Zaheer has a positive influence on other bowlers, says Dhoni

DURBAN - Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni lauded pace spearhead Zaheer Khan for guiding the team to an emphatic 87-run series levelling win against South Africa in the second cricket Test here Wednesday.

“Zaheer Khan has been the best bowler for India in the last couple of years. He executes his plans well. If plan A does not work, he is ready with plan B. He constantly helps other bowlers and has a positive influence on them,” said Dhoni.

Zaheer, who missed the first Test at the Centurion with injury, pepped up the bowling on his return and ended with a match haul of six for 93 and helped India win the match in four days.

Dhoni said that Zaheer’s performance was creditable because he was not getting much assistance from the end he was bowling.

“In fact, there was not much assistance for him from the end he was bowling from but he bowled long spells to get the results.”

“It was important to win this one after the Centurion loss. I am pleased with the performance of the boys. We were concerned about our ability to take 20 wickets but the bowlers put up a good show,” said Dhoni.

Dhoni, however, was disappointed with the team’s batting in the second innings and said there is work to be done before the third Test in Cape Town starting January 2.

“The batting was alright in the first innings. The way it looked at the start of the match, 200 seemed a good score. But the batting in the second innings was disappointing. We should have scored more runs,” he said.

On losing the toss, Dhoni said: “Losing the toss was predictable and it did not even surprise teammates in the dressing room.”

The India captain doesn’t want his team to lose focus in celebrating the win.

“It will be an important match. We will unwind ourselves with a lot of shopping in the run-up to the New Year. We can’t really afford to be drunk as well,” he said.