Bowler-friendly conditions will help India, says Dhoni

Bowler-friendly conditions in Durban will help India in the second test against South Africa starting on Sunday, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Saturday.

India are coming off an innings defeat in the first test at Centurion but Dhoni said that the cloudy, humid conditions and green wicket would help his team take the 20 wickets they need to level the three-test series.

“In the last game we were not even able to take 10 wickets, which is always a worry if you want to win a test match,” Dhoni told a news conference in Durban.

“Here it looks as if the bowlers will have the upper hand, which means we will look to strike with the ball. The weather forecast suggests it will be quite cloudy during the match and the stats say that whenever it’s cloudy in Durban the ball does a bit.”

India have been boosted by the return to fitness of fast bowler Zaheer Khan, who has taken 261 wickets in 76 tests.

“Zaheer Khan will be back in the side, which is a big bonus for us. We know that our bowlers have the talent, they just need to execute our plans well and be patient,” he added.

A loss in Durban would see South Africa win the series but Dhoni said that did not place any extra pressure on his team.

“When you are the number one side in the world every game is important, irrespective of where you stand in a series,” he said.

“We don’t place any extra emphasis on an individual match because if you do that you just create extra pressure for yourself.”