After Jacques Kallis forced a four-wicket defeat down Team India's throat,
Rahul Dravid doffed his hat at his opposite number, saying the South
African captain made all the difference in the first of the three-one dayers
here today.
"Kallis made all the difference. If you are playing against South Africa,
you have to get his wicket. He stays there till the end and often makes the difference
between two teams," Dravid said after the match.
Apart from hitting a sparkling, unbeaten 116-ball knock of
91, Kallis also grabbed two wickets and took two catches to be adjudged the
Man of the Match.
Dravid also felt that his side fell 20-run short in the match
today.
"We lost couple of wickets early in the innings and in
the end, felt some 20-run short. Me and Sachin got a good partnership but another
15-20 runs would have helped," he said.
With more than half the side down with a cold bug, a depleted
Team India took to the field with two spinners -- Ramesh Powar and Piyush
Chawla -- while vice captain MS Dhoni was not fit enough for the match.
"(With so many players down with cold and flu) it was not easy for us
and certainly not the ideal preparation. But still I would say that the boys
fought hard."
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