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Kanpur: Elated after leading India to a series-equalling victory against South Africa, India's stand-in Test captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is particularly happy with the successful bowling changes he made today.
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Skippering India in absence of regular Test captain Anil Kumble, Dhoni intelligently marshalled his bowlers and effected smart bowling changes to plot South Africa's peril. "It was one of those days when everything worked in our favour. I made five changes (in the South Africa second innings) and got eight wickets," Dhoni said.
'Green Park pitch not ideal'
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Special: South Africa in India 2008
Dhoni sprang a surprise today by opening the attack with Harbhajan Singh and then cleverly rotated the bowlers not to allow the South African batsmen settle into a rhythm. One instance was when he tossed the ball to Virender Sehwag and the part-time spinner removed Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis.
Dhoni admitted losing toss on this wicket pushed the hosts to the backfoot but the team showed character to square the series. "We were a slightly in the backfoot after losing the toss but everybody contributed to this win. It is a complete team effort," Dhoni said.
"Sourav Ganguly was fantastic with the bat and then (S) Sreesanth and Ishant (Sharma) played important knocks to stretch the first innings lead. And everybody who rolled arms got wickets. Bhajji bowled well throughout the series," he said.
Dhoni said it was a tough series with the conditions making it even tougher for both the sides. "The heat and humidity made the series even tougher, but I'm happy with the result," he said.
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