India's new coach Gary Kirsten on Sunday said the lack of help for the bowlers in the Chennai wicket had played a big part in the Test match ending in a dull draw.
"If the wicket had a little bit more assistance to the spinners it might have helped. The ball, on day four and day five, turned a bit more maybe the odd one creating inconsistent bounce. You have to give credit to them, possibly on day four and five we would have thought we would have put them under more pressure, but maybe that has something to do with the wicket not giving as much assistance to our spinners," Kirsten said in Chennai.
South Africa produced a spirited display with the bat in both the innings, posting 540 and 331 for five declared in their two innings respectively.
India hit a mammoth 627 courtesy of Virender Sehwag's 319 and Rahul Dravid's 111 but the bowlers came back a frustrated lot on the lifeless Chennai wicket.
Kirsten, who played 101 Tests and 185 ODIs for South Africa, said the visitors have come well-prepared and have plans in ready for everything that India has to offer.
"They have come well prepared they understand the conditions well. Let us realise they have a lot of experience in their batting line-up and they have got some set plans how they are going to play spin. We were aware of that," he said.
"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 that one of the sides is going to take the initiative," Kirsten added.
The 40-year-old India coach showered rich praise on triple-centurion Virender Sehwag, saying it was a privilege to witness such a knock.
"It was the best innings I have witnessed at a ground without question. It was a privilege to be part of, to see someone bat and play the range of strokes that he played," he said.
Kirsten said it would be best to leave Sehwag alone and not burden him with advices.
"I think you must stay well away from him and let him be. These are experienced international cricketers. They know their processes and what they need to do and Virender is a quality batsman, he knows how to score big hundreds. It wasn't even a question of going and saying, 'keep going get a double'. He already had his mind set on scoring a triple hundred. It is wonderful to have individuals like that, who have a major impact on a Test match," he added.
Kirsten agreed that India needs to improve their fielding after their lacklustre display in the Chennai Test.
"We are looking to improve in every Test match. It is certainly the mindset and attitude from a bunch of international cricketers that we know can field on the ground. It is something that we are aware of; it is an attention to detail we need to concentrate on. It is something we will take into the next Test," he said.
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