Sourav Ganguly and Wasim Jaffer cool off on Day V of the first Test, in Chennai, on Sunday

Chennai: Anil Kumble on Sunday rued losing the toss. At the post match news conference he said things could have been slightly different had India batted first.

The following are excerpts

May be because of the rain the curator may not have got enough time to prepare the pitch. Normally the Chennai track is good and there is always a bit more pace and bounce… Probably because of the unseasonal rain it didn’t help us.

Indian bowling

I think the bowlers did their best. You can’t expect anything more… In Indian conditions people start talking about spinners right from Day I till the last day. It is not just the two spinners who need to get 20 wickets… It is also important that other members put in their best. We did everything possible. You should give credit to the South Africans for the way they batted.

His thoughts on the Test

We did exceptionally well to get a sizeable lead after chasing 540. The way Virender Sehwag batted was a treat to watch. This Test will always be remembered for his knock and Rahul’s 10,000 runs. The toss was crucial. Probably if we had bowled second things would have been slightly different.

On whether he would send any message to the curators in Ahmedabad and Kanpur

I’ve only one message, and that is for the team to win. I don’t have anything to say to the groundsman. We go and play on whatever is given to us. I am hopeful it will be an even contest between the bat and ball in the next two Tests.

Sehwag’s innings

It’s special… It’s the best ever I have seen on a cricketing field. The range of strokes Viru played and the pace at which he made his runs… Considering the conditions here — the heat and the humidity — to keep that kind of concentration going right through the day was amazing.

Dravid’s innings

Rahul has been a fantastic batsman for us right through his career. For him to have achieved 10,000 runs in Tests is special. I am privileged to have seen each and every run he has scored from the dressing room. It is a very special moment for us.

On Sehwag missing out on a 400

He probably had the best opportunity… Scoring 300 is monumental. To come back again and get another 100 is something he will have to do again. To get two triple hundreds in a relatively short career is amazing.

The positives

Everybody has a role to perform… I am first a bowler, then a captain. It was tough in the first couple of days when the wicket was at its best. I thought we bowled really well to pull it back after they had such a good start and to pick their last four wickets quickly. That was the positive thing. Having said that, the way we came and batted being 540 down showed a lot of character.

What went wrong on the final day?

We were in a position to put a lot of pressure on the South Africans. We went for runs and probably lost a couple of wickets in doing that… It put us back a bit. Otherwise we could have applied a bit more pressure.

If he missed a fifth specialist bowler

On this pitch, in hindsight, I would have played Sehwag and Rahul and had seven bowlers (smiles). This is something which we can think of but at the end of the day if there were something for the bowlers, four would have certainly taken the advantage… Something we can consider…

Was RP Singh a letdown?

Each bowler is different… The way RP has bowled he has done exceptionally well considering he is playing his first Test in India. The conditions were difficult. You just can’t blame one bowler. It was a tough pitch where every other bowler struggled. Why single out one?

Gary Kirsten was also happy with the team’s performance, given the conditions, in his first Test as coach.

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Anil summed it up nicely. The guys played really well on what was a pretty flat wicket. Not much assistance to all the bowlers really. The batsmen from both sides committed themselves to the cause and put in a fine batting effort.

If he has any advice for Sehwag

What advice! It was the best I have witnessed without question. It was a privilege to be a part of it… To see someone bat and play the range of strokes that he played… I will stay well away from him and let him be his own self. These are experienced international cricketers. They know their job. Virender is a quality batsman, he knows how to score big hundreds. It is wonderful to have individuals like him who can make a major impact on a Test match.

The next two Tests

They know what to expect and what to do. They are a well prepared side, so is this Indian side. The next two Tests are going to be competitive and there is going to come a time in the next two matches when one of the sides has got to take the initiative. We certainly were very close to doing that here, certainly on Day IV. If we had come out and taken a 200 run-lead we could have put them under pressure. It didn’t happen that way. One of their bowlers bowled exceptionally well and pegged us back a little bit.

“He backs himself and completely believes in his ability. He has got an unbelievable knack of getting the players under him to feel the same. He has the ability to get the best out of his players. That’s a great quality, which I was fortunate to have under Hansie Cronje,” adds an agency report.]