‘Nice to carry on from the World Cup’

“We came in very cold and for the guys to play the type of cricket they did was very impressive,” said Kallis who was also named Man of the Match on Tuesday.

“It was nice to get some runs and wickets again to carry on the form from the World Cup and hopefully that will continue for the rest of the week,” he said.

Kallis acknowledged that India had put up a decent score on board and that then his openers AB de Villiers and Man van Wyk who set up the game for his side. “I thought it was a competitive score then once we got a good start that set the base for us,” he said.

“The key here is getting through the new ball, the openers played pretty well then we just needed someone to bat through and guys to bat around him to get close to them.

“Vernon did extremely well to finish it off,” Kallis said.

He also felt that the Indian spinners bowled well in the middle overs when South Africa lost wickets at regular intervals. “It was the nature of the wicket, it just got slower and slower as the innings went on. We tried to do the same thing towards the back end of our innings but certainly the spinners did come into play and bowled pretty well to put the pressure on us.”

Philander also earned the appreciation of his captain. “To come in and perform the way he has shows big character. He’s done it back home in domestic cricket, finishing off a lot of games for the Cape Cobras and today he did it at the highest level.