AB de Villiers kept ego at bay, Proteas deserved a draw: Jagaval Srinath

New Delhi: Former Indian pacer Javagal Srinath on Tuesday showed his appreciation to the effort put in by the South African batsmen on the last two days of the Feroz Shah Kotla Test.

Srinath went as far as to say that the visitors deserved a draw for their dogged determination and resolve in attempting to save the 4th Test.

The 46-year-old lauded AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla, who at one stage appeared to have deflated the Indian bowling attack.

“I was delighted by the fight put up by them as a batting unit, and specifically by Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers. For them to knuckle down, not bother about run scoring, to keep their egos at bay and to address every delivery with a broad bat in solid defence would have taken a great deal of mental strength and resolve.

They perhaps deserved a draw, but then again, for every defensive question they asked, India’s bowling group collectively had the answers, so no one can grudge India the victory either,” wrote Srinath in his Hindustan Times column.

De Villiers and Amla played 297 and 244 balls in a stunning defiance act. South Africa's batting line-up had crumbled easily during the course of the four-match series, which is why their performance on Day 4 and 5 is bound to please the team management despite a 337-run defeat.