Angry Chappell threatens axe over India flops against SA

CAPE TOWN: India coach Greg Chappell said some senior players could be under pressure following the team’s defeat in the series-deciding third and final Test against South Africa at Newlands.
South Africa completed a come-from-behind 2-1 series victory on Saturday with a five-wicket win despite rain causing a delay of three hours 45 minutes before they reached their target of 211.
Chappell said India’s batting had been disappointing.
He singled out the second innings collapse to 169 all out but also said the team had failed to capitalise fully on winning the toss when they made 414 in the first innings. The Australian said some hard choices would have to be made.
“Looking at the tour as a whole there are more questions than answers,” he said. “In the next week or so when we get to India and have a chance to digest what happened and discuss it, we’ll have to make some decisions about which way to go in the future. There will be some guys under pressure without a doubt,” he added.
Asked by an Indian journalist whether he thought a key aspect of the turnaround in the series had been that South Africa’s senior players performed better than India’s, he said: “It’s hard to escape that there are things that will have to be discussed”.
“The positive side is that some of the young boys performed very well. They showed guts and skill and good temperament for international cricket,” he expressed.
Chappell also said the pitch had not deteriorated as much as expected. “It offered some targets for the spin bowlers but it really wasn’t a minefield,” he said.
“The major landing areas of the wicket were pretty good which made our batting effort on Friday that much more disappointing,” he added.
Despite the defeat, Chappell had praise for former captain Sourav Ganguly. “He’s done what he was chosen to do, which is to get in there and get runs. His performance on Friday in difficult circumstances, having to be rushed in at the last minute, was exceptional. He’s done a good job,” he remarked. South African captain Graeme Smith, who was named man-of-the-match after scoring 94 and 55, said the win was a massive event for all the players in his side.
“To come back from 1-0 down in a three-Test series, realistically we knew how difficult it would be and I think we played superb cricket throughout. We never gave up and we showed character at key moments,” he added.
He said the series-levelling win in Durban was a breakthrough but rated the Newlands triumph higher.

Poor batting cost us, says Dravid

Rahul Dravid was left to reflect on a poor second innings batting performance after India's hopes of a series win in South Africa were dashed in Cape Town.

The Proteas won by five wickets in the final session to take the series 2-1.

"We should have set them 60 or 70 runs more than we did but didn't play well enough yesterday and they batted well in the first hour today," said Dravid.

"We are disappointed. After dominating for three days we could have ended up with a better result than we did."

The normally prolific Dravid's 47 in India's second innings was his highest score of a series in which he mustered only 125 runs at an average of 20.8.

Equally disappointing was the form of Virender Sehwag, who averaged only 14, and and only Wasim Jaffer scored a century for India in the three matches.

Dravid was happier with his bowlers and paid tribute the new ball pair of Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan, who shared 31 wickets in the series.

Zaheer claimed all three wickets to fall on the final day, but Sreesanth was unable to find similar penetration and add to his series tally of 18.

"Sreesanth has been a great success for us - both he and Zaheer bowled really well right thought the series and matched the South African pacers, which was a great effort.

"Tours like this can really help young quick bowlers and I hope he [Sreesanth] goes from strength to strength," Dravid commented.

India will now turn their attention to one-day cricket with home series against West Indies and Sri Lanka, while South Africa play host to Pakistan.

"We can take some positives from this Test series and move ahead. We've got eight one-day games before the World Cup and have got to get certain parts of our one-day game right. We'll be focusing on that," Dravid added.

South Africa pip India for series

Third Test, Cape Town, day five: South Africa 373 & 211-5 beat India 414 & 169 by five wickets


Click here to see the remaining scorecard
South Africa edged to a five-wicket victory in the final Test in Cape Town to seal a 2-1 series win over India.

The hosts reached their target of 211 for the loss of five wickets despite the threat of rain and bad light.

Captain Graeme Smith and night-watchman Shaun Pollock resumed on 55-2 and clamed any nerves by adding 56 before a lengthy rain delay.

After an early lunch, Smith fell for 55 and Pollock for 37 but Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince sealed the win.

The pair put on 77 for the fifth wicket before Kallis holed out to Rahul Dravid in the deep off Zaheer Kahn for 32 with just two runs needed, leaving Prince (37 not out) and Herschelle Gibbs to finish the job.

Paceman Khan was the pick of the Indian bowlers with final figures of 4-62 after picking up all three wickets to fall on the final day.

Only 50 minutes of play was possible in the morning session but soon after the re-start Khan removed Smith, with the help of a stunning left-handed diving catch by wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik.

"We should have set them 60 or 70 runs more than we did

India skipper Rahul Dravid
More India reaction"

Smith's replacement Kallis narrowly survived a confident appeal for a leg-side catch by the keeper from his first ball as India's players became increasingly animated.

And the renewed pressure paid off three overs later when Pollock fell into Khan's trap when he pushed at a full length ball and edged to VVS Laxman at a wide first slip after the left-armer had nbanged the previous two in short.

But Kallis and Prince were able to ride out the storm and guided South Africa to 162-4 at tea, still 49 runs adrift.

With one eye on a brooding sky, and under full floodlights, the pair edged cautiously towards the target before Prince hit the winning run.

India won the first Test in Johannesburg by 123 runs, while South Africa clinched the second Test in Durban by 174 runs.

Scorecard-India VS Sa-day 5-Test 3

Here is the scorecard of the last day of this crucial test match between India and Southafrica.Any team winning this match will clinch the series.The match is very evenly poised even on the last day.Here is the scorecard of the fourth innings.If you want to see previous scorecard,click here

Scorecard-India VS Sa-day 5-Test 3

02-01-2007 at Cape Town, Day 5 of 5
Delayed
Rain stopped play
India won the toss and decided to bat
India 1st Innings
414 all out (131.1 overs)
South Africa 1st Innings
373 all out (128.3 overs)
India 2nd Innings
169 all out (64.0 overs)
South Africa 2nd Innings
111 for 2 (27.0 overs)



Here is the previous scorecard.
Umpires: Asad Rauf, D J Harper
South Africa: G C Smith, A B de Villiers, J H Kallis, H H Gibbs, H M Amla, A G Prince, M V Boucher, S M Pollock, D W Steyn, P L Harris, M Ntini
India: K D Karthik, W Jaffer, V Sehwag, R Dravid, S R Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, S C Ganguly, A Kumble, S Sreesanth, Z Khan, M M Patel

South Africa edge towards victory

Third Test, Cape Town, day five: South Africa 373 & 111-2 v India 414 & 169
Scorecard

South Africa moved comfortably to 111-2 before rain stopped play with just 100 runs left to seal the deciding Test against India in Cape Town.

Captain Graeme Smith and nightwatchman Shaun Pollock resumed on 55-2 and spent an untroubled morning guiding their side towards a 2-1 series win.

Smith was unbeaten on 49 with paceman Pollock contributing a polished 25 in support of his skipper.

The leaden Cape Town skies forced the floodlights on before the rain fell.

SA set for tense final day chase

Third Test, Cape Town, day four (close): South Africa 373 & 55-2 v India 414 & 169
Scorecard

South Africa require a further 156 to secure the deciding Test at Newlands after closing day four on 55-2.

Beginning their second innings with a lead of 41, India soon slipped to 6-2, but the experienced Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly shared 84 in 29 overs.

Three wickets went for seven, Sachin Tendulkar out in the last over before tea, Dinesh Karthik added 38, but the last three wickets fell within an over.

The home side started their chase well but lost Hashim Amla in the final over.

AB de Villiers clipped the first ball of the final innings from Zaheer Khan for four, but having helped Graeme Smith compile 36 he fished at the left-armer, who found seam movement in addition to his natural angle and caught the edge.

Anil Kumble, on a hat-trick after taking the final two wickets in the first innings, was introduced in the ninth over and was despatched for two boundaries in his first four balls.

However, he turned one sharply to pin Amla which prompted the close, and the home side will be all too well aware of his threat on the final day.

Following South Africa's dramatic initial revival in the early stages of day four, there was controversy after the fall of the second wicket.

Star batsman Tendulkar was due to come in at his customary number four position, but because he was off the field for 18 minutes on day three, officials insisted he spent the same amount of time away from the crease.

This led to a lengthy delay and South Africa captain Graeme Smith began consulting the umpires over the laws regarding batsmen being timed out, but there was no actual appeal for dismissal.
A batsman is given three minutes to reach the crease and take guard, and there have been only four instances in first-class cricket of a batsmen being given out for failing to arrive in time - none in Test matches.

The first two India wickets fell in 12 minutes on the fourth morning, six minutes before Tendulkar was permitted to begin his innings.

But it transpired the fourth official only informed the India dressing room the ball before the second wicket fell, and because of the unusual circumstances a hastily padded up new number four Ganguly was not timed out.

He was required because Virender Sehwag, restored to the opening slot, drove loosely wide of off-stump with no foot movement and edged behind in the second over.

In the next over, first innings centurion Wasim Jaffer tried to evade a typically inward slanting, lifting delivery from Makhaya Ntini which thudded into the gloves and looped to second slip, leaving India only 47 ahead.

Dravid and Ganguly gradually steadied the ship, and were content to continue watchfully, with only occasional glimpses of strokeplay on an increasingly wearing pitch.

Debutant left-arm spinner Paul Harris helped South Africa keep the runs down, and caused some problems bowling into the rough outside the leg-stump from over the wicket.

Ganguly reached 46 but fell to South Africa's plan to tempt him wide of off-stump and gave a catch to gully.

Tendulkar might have gone for two when he set off for an ill-advised single having been rapped on the gloves, was sent back by Dravid and saw Hashim Amla's throw from cover narrowly miss the target.

Harris, who took 4-129 in the first innings, took a neat low return catch to dismiss Dravid for 47, while VVS Laxman hesitated before deciding to risk a second to Shaun Pollock at deep square-leg and was run out by a whisker.

Tendulkar was lbw to one from Pollock that replays showed reversed in too much and would have slid down the leg-side.

Karthik, who opened in the first innings and compiled 153 with Jaffer, played confidently again at number seven, even risking a reverse sweep in his 38 from 48 balls, to infuriate the South Africans.

But Zaheer Khan turned for a second run without looking and was run out by a superb flat throw from AB de Villiers and Steyn added the final two wickets in two balls to dismiss the tourists for 169 and let the run chase begin.

Scorecard-India VS Sa-day 4-Test 3

02-01-2007 at Cape Town, Day 4 of 5
CLOSE
India won the toss and decided to bat
India 1st Innings
414 all out (131.1 overs)
South Africa 1st Innings
373 all out (128.3 overs)
India 2nd Innings
169 all out (64.0 overs)
Southafrica 2nd innings
55 for 2 (16.2 Overs)
SA need 155 more runs to win with 8 wickets in hand!









Dont forget to join us tommorow at 2:00pm Indian time.Its gonna be a do or die day for both the teams.2-3 early wickets and india will be on top while a half century from top order and the game will drift towards SA.so the match is very interesting at the moment.
Good Bye!

Umpires: Asad Rauf, D J Harper
South Africa: G C Smith, A B de Villiers, J H Kallis, H H Gibbs, H M Amla, A G Prince, M V Boucher, S M Pollock, D W Steyn, P L Harris, M Ntini
India: K D Karthik, W Jaffer, V Sehwag, R Dravid, S R Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, S C Ganguly, A Kumble, S Sreesanth, Z Khan, M M Patel

Scorecard-India VS Sa-day 3-Test 3

02-01-2007 at Cape Town, Day 3 of 5
Close
India won the toss and decided to bat
India 1st Innings
414 all out (131.1 overs)
South Africa 1st Innings
373 all out (128.3 overs)







Awaiting ur comments:)

Scorecard-3rd test,2nd day-SA vs Ind

02-01-2007 at Cape Town, Day 2 of 5
Close
India won the toss and decided to bat
India 1st Innings
414 all out (131.1 overs)
South Africa 1st Innings
144 for 1 (41.0 overs)

Scorecard-India 414 all out VS Sa

Day 2 of 5
In play
India won the toss and decided to bat
India 1st Innings
414 all out (131.1 overs)
South Africa 1st Innings
57 for 1 (16.0 overs)





Comments please,they really matter!

3rd test-SA vs Ind

The 2nd day of the 3rd test match between India Vs Sa will start at 1:30pm Indian time.India will resume their innings at 254/3.With Laxman and tendulkar 4 and 28 on the crease respectively.
remeber to visit us at 1:30pm for more detailed anlysis of the match and for a constantly updated scorecard.Click here to view the scorecard of the day 1|Scorecard|
Bookmark us|CRTL+D

Scorecard-3rd test SA vs Ind-1st day

02-01-2007 at Cape Town, Day 1 of 5
Close
India won the toss and decided to bat
India 1st Innings
254 for 3 (90.0 overs)

Umpires: Asad Rauf, D J Harper
South Africa: G C Smith, A B de Villiers, J H Kallis, H H Gibbs, H M Amla, A G Prince, M V Boucher, S M Pollock, D W Steyn, P L Harris, M Ntini
India: K D Karthik, W Jaffer, V Sehwag, R Dravid, S R Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, S C Ganguly, A Kumble, S Sreesanth, Z Khan, M M Patel.

Your comments on India's todays performance?

India lifted by Jaffer's century

Third Test, Cape Town, day one (close): South Africa 254-3 v India
Scorecard
Wasim Jaffer's third Test century inspired India to 254-3 after day one of the deciding Test in South Africa.

Jaffer, who had not passed 30 in the series, hit 15 fours until edging to second slip five overs before stumps.

He shared 153 with Dinesh Karthik, opening for the first time after being recalled for his first Test since 2005 following an injury to Mahendra Dhoni.

Karthik was dropped at slip by Graeme Smith on 32 but hit his second Test 50 before debutant Paul Harris ousted him.

The tourists also brought in seamer Munaf Patel for VRV Singh but chose to bat first after winning the toss at Newlands.

South Africa made three changes, bringing in Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn and 28-year-old Harris.

Kallis (back) and Steyn (thigh) were passed fit after missing the second Test at Durban and took over from Andrew Hall and Andre Nel - Nel missing out because of a bruised heel.

After a quiet start in which eight runs came from the first five overs, Jaffer punched successive off-side boundaries as Makhaya Ntini dropped short.

Kartik struck his first boundary with a glorious straight drive from Kallis' opening delivery, the all-rounder looking out-of-sorts as 18 came from his five overs.

Jaffer brought up the India 50 in the 21st over, clipping Shaun Pollock from middle and off stump to the mid-wicket boundary.
Left-arm spin bowler Harris came in for Morne Morkel to add variety to the home attack with the series level at 1-1.

He was introduced into the attack 15 minutes before lunch and caused occasional problems with some turn, despite delivering from the extreme width of the crease.

Jaffer moved into the 40s with a slice drive over third slip but there was no doubt about his eighth boundary, which recorded both his half century and 1,000 Test runs in his 17th appearance.

The 150 came up in unusual fashion when Kallis unsettled Karthik with a bouncer that flew off the helmet, but much to the bowler's dismay was credited as runs to the batsman.

Harris, who played county cricket in England for Warwickshire in 2006, secured his maiden Test scalp with the first ball after tea when Karthik was given out for a bat and pad catch at silly point.

Replays suggested no contact with the bat and fielder Hashim Amla did not even appeal, trying instead to execute a run-out.

Jaffer reached three figures in the 69th over, clipping Harris through mid-wicket for three, but eventually succumbed to a tired-looking stroke and was sharply caught by Kallis off Steyn.

Skipper Rahul Dravid, who hit Steyn for successive boundaries early in his innings, reached 29 from 56 balls before chasing one from the redoubtable Pollock and edging behind.

Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar struck five boundaries in his 28 and remained unbeaten with VVS Laxman.

---

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), A.B. de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn, Paul Harris, Makhaya Ntini.

India: Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Saurav Ganguly, Dinesh Karthik, Anil Kumble, S Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel.

Scorecard at Tea-3rd test,Ind Vs SA

02-01-2007 at Cape Town, Day 1 of 5
Tea
India won the toss and decided to bat
India 1st Innings
153 for 0 (56.0 overs)




Umpires: Asad Rauf, D J Harper
South Africa: G C Smith, A B de Villiers, J H Kallis, H H Gibbs, H M Amla, A G Prince, M V Boucher, S M Pollock, D W Steyn, P L Harris, M Ntini
India: K D Karthik, W Jaffer, V Sehwag, R Dravid, S R Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, S C Ganguly, A Kumble, S Sreesanth, Z Khan, M M Patel

Dhoni ruled out of series decider

Third Test, Cape Town: South Africa v India
Scorecard


India suffered a blow to their chances of winning their Test series in South Africa when Mahendra Dhoni was ruled out of the final match in Cape Town.

The wicket-keeper/batsman failed to recover from a hand injury and was replaced by Dinesh Karthik.

The tourists also brought in seamer Munaf Patel for VRV Singh but chose to bat first after winning the toss.

South Africa made three changes, bringing in Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn and debutant Paul Harris.

Kallis (back) and Steyn (thigh) were passed fit after missing the second Test at Durban and took over from Andrew Hall and Andre Nel - Nel missing out because of a bruised heel.

Left-arm spin bowler Harris came in for Morne Morkel to add variety to the home attack with the series level at 1-1.

South Africa skipper Graeme Smith was delighted by their 174-run victory in Durban but said: "Our feet are firmly on the ground. We know what we have to do. It starts all over again."

India's main concern was the under-performance of their batting line-up, which has so far failed to register a single century in the series.

Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag in particular have been short of runs and Sehwag's confidence would not have been lifted by comments the Press Trust of India attributed to chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar, who described the opener's form as "miserable".

Vengsarkar added: "Unless and until you get a good start you cannot get a big score on the board and if you want to score 300, you must have a good start."

Dravid, meanwhile, has refused to dwell on the game in Durban and his side are unlikely to lack nerve having won the final Test in the West Indies last year to seal a series victory.

"It's exciting. We've been competitive with the South Africa team.

"We've stayed with them over the course of both these Test matches [so far] so we are quite excited about the next Test match and hope it's a good one."

---

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), A.B. de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn, Paul Harris, Makhaya Ntini.

India: Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Saurav Ganguly, Dinesh Karthik, Anil Kumble, S Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel.

Test Match Series scorecard: South Africa v India

02-01-2007 at Cape Town, Day 1 of 5
In play
India won the toss and decided to bat
India 1st Innings
116 for 0 (43.3 overs)




Note:Click on the scorecard to enlarge.
Visit frequently for updates.the scorecard will be updated after every 10 overs.

Umpires: Asad Rauf, D J Harper
South Africa: G C Smith, A B de Villiers, J H Kallis, H H Gibbs, H M Amla, A G Prince, M V Boucher, S M Pollock, D W Steyn, P L Harris, M Ntini
India: W Jaffer, V Sehwag, R Dravid, S R Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, S C Ganguly, K D Karthik, A Kumble, S Sreesanth, Z Khan, M M Patel

India seek batting improvement in decisive Test

India will be seeking an improvement in their top order batting in the series-deciding third and final Test against South Africa starting at Newlands Tuesday.

"The top order batting can be a lot better," said Indian captain Rahul Dravid after his team lost the second Test by 174 runs in Durban Saturday.

India have yet to make a solid start in the series and have failed to reach a hundred in any innings without losing at least three wickets.

Attacking opening batsman Virender Sehwag has made only 45 runs in four innings and is under particular pressure, although Dravid refused to be drawn on whether Sehwag's place was under threat.

Fellow opener Wasim Jaffer showed signs of form in Durban, scoring 26 and 28, but Dravid, batting at number three, has managed only 49 runs in four outings. Dravid was on the wrong end of dubious umpiring decisions in both innings in Durban.

Dravid pointed out that both teams had struggled to make good starts on pitches which have given the bowlers some help.

That could change at Newlands, however, where batsmen generally have an opportunity to play their strokes on true pitches, although preparation for the Test might have been affected by unseasonal rain in recent days.

Sachin Tendulkar, who made his only Test half-century of 2006 in the first innings in Durban, made a thrilling 169 on his previous Test appearance at Newlands ten years ago and will hope to get 2007 off to a good start.

With the series locked at 1-1, both teams could make changes.

Jacques Kallis, South Africa's leading batsman, missed the Durban Test because of back pain and is expected to return to action in his home town, although he will have a fitness check Monday.

Left-arm spinner Paul Harris will almost certainly make his debut on a ground where slow bowling is usually a factor. South Africa did not field a spinner in the first two Tests.

India could also make a change to their bowling attack, with fast bowler Munaf Patel or off-spinner Harbhajan Singh likely to be considered ahead of VRV Singh.

Dravid said managing the team's bowling resources was important in back-to-back Tests.

"We've got two fast bowlers and a spinner who have done a great job for us and a lot of work as well," he said, referring to Zaheer Khan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and Anil Kumble.

Selecting either Patel or Harbhajan ahead of seamer VRV Singh would take some of the workload off the men who have carried the Indian attack so far.

The fitness of Indian wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will also be checked ahead of the Test. Dhoni suffered bruising to his right middle finger while keeping wicket in Durban and took a painful blow on the same hand while batting.

Dhoni was India's most successful batsman in the second innings in Durban, making 47, and earned praise from Dravid for the way he has adapted to South African conditions.

Defeat in Durban was a big blow to India's hopes of winning a series in South Africa for the first time, following their 123-run win in the first Test in Johannesburg, and they will be hard-pressed against a resurgent South African team on a ground which has favoured the home nation.

South Africa have won ten of 16 Test matches at Newlands since the country returned to international cricket in 1991. The only visiting team to taste success at the famous ground in the shadow of Table Mountain has been Australia.

South African captain Graeme Smith said the win in the second Test had been a major boost to his team but warned that there would be no over-confidence.

"We've always performed well going into Newlands in back-to-back Tests. But our feet are firmly on the ground. We know what we have to do. It all starts all over again."

Smith lavishes praise on bowlers

South Africa captain Graeme Smith applauded his battery of five pace bowlers who, led by Makhaya Ntini, wrapped up the Test win against India.

The hosts won by 174 runs in Durban to set up a decider in Cape Town.

Smith said: "Makhaya has been searching for one or two things and today it was fantastic to se him in full flight.

"We really showed a lot of discipline and a lot of charcter and I think the wicket was good so the bowlers did outstandingly well through the Test."

Ntini took five wickets in the second innings for match figures of 8-89, good enough to give him man-of-the-match honours over Ashwell Prince, who scored a century on day one.

But South Africa were almost denied victory by the weather in Durban, with India's tail-enders desperate to come off for bad light in the final session.
Smith said: "The adrenaline is pumping a lot at the moment. It got a bit fiery at the end there because the boys wanted to win really badly.

"But there were a lot of top performances and I'm just over the moon."

Having lost the series opener in Johannesburg, South Africa had endured a tough build-up to the Durban Test.

"It was pretty difficult," said Smith."There were, rightly, a few criticisms thrown at the team and I think some unjust ones also. Some people really went to town.

"I'm really proud that we stood up to the criticism and showed what we can do. This is what Test cricket is all about.

"We didn't play well enough in the first game but we have performed well here.
"There's still a lot of improving to do but hopefully we can find that in Cape Town to make it a fantastic end to the series."

Ntini said he had worked hard since the one-day series to make his bowling more effective.

He said: "A lot of hard work has been done adjusting from the one-dayers to the Tests.

"In the Tests we bowl 20 overs a day, in the one-dayers only 10.

"I would like to say thank you very much to the crowd of Durban, who have been fantastic. They support us very well.

"They want to see wickets falling and [fellow pace bowler] Andre Nel at the other end is always keeping them up and awake.

Dravid hopes for exciting finale

India captain Rahul Dravid refused to dwell on his team's defeat in Durban, instead turning his attention to the series decider against South Africa.

Dravid said: "It's exciting. We've been competitive with the South Africa team.

"We've stayed with them over the course of both these Test matches so we are quite excited about the next Test match and hope it's a good one."

Dravid's team were beaten by 174 runs 11 days after winning in Johannesburg. The Cape Town Test starts on 2 January.

The Indian skipper failed with the bat in Durban, making scores of 11 and 5, but received rough umpiring decisions on both occasions.

However, Dravid was gracious in defeat. He said: "South Africa played some very good cricket right through the five days.

"Ashwell Prince's century in the first innings and Makhaya Ntini's spell this morning was the key to their success.

"But it's been a little bit disappointing from us. I think our bowlers have been doing a fine job, but we could have batted a lot better than we did, especially in the second innings."