Defeat was inevitable after first innings deficit: Dhoni

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni today said the first innings deficit was too much to handle and a defeat was inevitable after the visitors conceded a massive 484run lead to South Africa in the first cricket Test here The deficit was too much to handle and South Africa got too many runs It was a good show by the batsmen in the second innings Dhoni said after India were dismissed for 459 in their second innings to hand South Africa an innings and 25run victory After they won the toss it was a job half done but they had to bowl at the right areas and they did that Their batsmen also batted really well he added Asked what are the positives that India would take from this match Dhoni said Most of the batsmen got off to a good start in the second innings I mean Gauti Gautam Gambhir scored 80 Sachin Tendulkar 100 these are positives But there are grey areas Our bowling has to improve and we are looking forward to have Zaheer Khan back in the side It is important to educate the bowlers and give them a road map for the next test Ive lost quite a few tosses but its important now to take some time off and then get back into the groove he added South African allrounder Jacques Kallis who was awarded the Man of the Match for his maiden unbeaten double ton in the first innings said it was a very special moment for him It took a long way to come but it was worth the wait It was a very special moment Kallis said It was a good allround effort from us we put in a good performance on day one which put us ahead of the eight ball Centurion is a big scoring ground and we came into this Test looking to be very positive with both bat and ball he said Highly satisfied after drawing the first blood in the high profile series South African skipper Graeme Smith heaped praise on his team and said the aim now would be to make it 20 in Durban Obviously very happy its a big series the buildup has been big and its nice to come out and secure a big win Smith said The bowlers did very well and bowled in the right areas on the first day We wanted to be positive in our first innings and to take the game forward like that The way the batsmen played it was great Test cricket Weve had terrific support from the fans looking forward to Christmas with our families We have to continue in the same vein and make it 20 in Durban Test that would be the aim he said Spinner Paul Harris and pacer Morne Morkel were also awarded with a memento for achieving 100 wickets in their Test career in the postmatch presentation