India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Thursday doffed his to his lion-hearted bowlers for scripting the home team's dramatic series-levelling win over South Africa in the second Test in Kolkata on Thursday .
Dhoni said getting seven South African wickets in the final session of the opening day tilted the game in his team's favour and even though the side missed Zaheer Khan -- who had strained a leg muscle -- today, the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra shouldered the extra burden and delivered the goods.
"The bowlers were really great. The wicket did nothing on the first day. It was not a turner as such but Mishy (Mishra) and Bhajji (Harbhajan) bowled really well," Dhoni said after India beat South Africa to level the series and retain their number one Test team's status.
"Today we didn't have Zaheer and the bowlers bowled really well. We had lost one day's play and today we did not have Zaheer. We desperately wanted to be on the winning side because of the amount of effort that the three bowlers put in today," he said.
"Mishra bowled really well. It was good to see Ishant (Sharma) bowling with rhythm and pace and bowling in right areas. Bhajji too was brilliant. There is so much pressure on him ever since Anil Kumble retired. Every time he walks out, people expect him to get 3-4 wickets," Dhoni said. PTI
