Johannesburg, Jan 15: When the much vaunted Indian batting line-up fails to fire, it’s often an indication of a disappointing result. But the Jo’burg one-dayer, where India famously pulled off a one-run win, has brought the bowlers back into the limelight. Captain Dhoni feels his bowlers deserve full credit for the way they restricted the South African batsman in less than perfect conditions.

Excerpts from a post-match interview

On the terrific win

Of course, it is a big win for us. Especially [considering] the wicket was very good [and] we were short by maybe 40-45 odd runs. I think we got off to a slow but good start - the kind of start that [we] all look for. But after that, we lost wickets in quick succession. Yuvraj Singh and I got some kind of a partnership going and we wanted to take the Powerplay. Just before that, Yuvi got out on the last delivery which meant we had to postpone the Powerplay. When we finally took the Powerplay, [Suresh] Raina got out on the very first ball. I think we were short of runs but I think it is a terrific performance by the bowlers. They bowled really well. They bowled in the right areas and put a lot of pressure on the South African batsmen.

On India being forced to set an attacking field when the SA batsmen were cruising along

Well, of course it does [force a side to set a field accordingly]. I think Harbhajan [Singh’s spell] was pretty crucial because their batsmen were in big, they had some kind of a momentum going with them. When Bhajji came in, they decided not to take on his bowling which meant they lost a bit of momentum. After that, we slowly got back into the game. So I think his contribution was really important apart from Munaf [Patel] who has been bowling well for us in the last 10-15 ODIs that he has played. So overall, [I am] happy with the performance. The part-timers are doing a good job. That’s a relief because the conditions don’t really suit them.

On the importance of Yuvraj Singh’s half-century

We all talk about Yuvraj Singh. I think he is our main batsman when it comes to the middle-order. Batting at No. 4 he can dictate terms, he can bat the way he wants to bat. And of course, one thing is important - for him to get off to a decent start. Once he crosses 10-15 odd runs, you can see his fantastic batting and he can put a lot of pressure [on the bowlers].

On coming back from behind in the Tests and now again in the ODIs, setting up the series nicely

It makes it interesting - that’s what is important in a five-match series played at different venues. All of [the venues] are really good. [There are] three more to go and hopefully [we’ll play] some tough cricket. [The plan is to] play good cricket to our potential, not bother too much about the result.