India won’t rely on South Africa’s poor statistics in Durban: Dhoni

DURBAN - Indian captain M.S. Dhoni has said that he is aware of South Africa’s recent record in Durban, where they lost to Australia and England in 2009, but insisted that it meant nothing to him.

India will face South Africa in the second Test, starting today at Kingsmead.

“We can’t rely on statistics as they don’t win you matches. Every wicket is different and every bowler is different. We need to take 20 wickets to win the match and it doesn’t matter what any team did before us,” Sport24 quoted Dhoni, as saying.

“It’s good news for us that Zaheer (Khan) is back, but our batsmen still need to negotiate the South African seam attack. Only then can we put pressure on the opposition.”

“Our bowling has been a concern but we know they have the talent. They just need to execute well and be patient,” he added.

The 29-year-old further said that his team was disappointed with their performance in the first Test in Centurion, but they were accustomed to bouncing back from a poor start.

“It’s nothing new to us. We’ve put in good performances over the last year and we need to build on that now and play some good cricket,” he added.

India had lost the first Test at Centurion’s SuperSport Park by an innings and 25 runs. (ANI)