Sairaj Bahutule in action in Jaipur on Sunday. (PTI)

Jaipur: Board President?s XI captain Sairaj Bahutule on Sunday conceded that the announcement of the squad for the first Test against South Africa ahead of the tour match, dampened the spirits of some of his players.

?Obviously some guys were disheartened. I told them to look at the positive side of playing a three-day match against an international side and make the most of it,? Bahutule said after the first day?s play against the visitors.

Bahutule, who picked four for 65 before the tourists declared their first innings at 226 for five, said he focussed on bowling a steady line and length as the wicket at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium offered little response.

?The aim was consistency. I concentrated on bowling a steady line and length, so that the run flow is dried up and pressure is created.?

South African coach Ray Jennings said there was no middle order collapse but the team lost wickets as they decided to play shots.

?We wanted to make a game of it. We were not looking for just practice, otherwise we could have batted on till Monday. The batsmen decided to go for their shots and lost their wickets, there was no collapse as such,? Jennings said.

Jennings praised Bahutule for his controlled leg spin. ?India have enormous spin talent. The leg-spinner (Bahutule) showed superb control and was truly a high quality bowler.

?You could also see our batsmen have got the skills (to play the spinners). They were not fearing anything. We are ready for what you can throw at us,? he said.

Justin Ontong, who made a valuable 70, said he needed a lot of patience to succeed against the Indian slow bowlers. ?We were told before coming here that we needed to carry two bags, one bag full of patience. The wicket was spinning slowly, and it was really hard in the first 20 balls. It was strange field setting, I had to be patient when the runs were not coming. And there was sudden release of runs, so it was a see-saw battle.?

Mongia?s aim

Meanwhile, Dinesh Mongia is hoping to get a nod for the allrounder?s slot in the national team. Playing for the Board President?s XI in the three-dayer against South Africa, he said he would try to impress the selectors with his bowling too.

?I am trying to vie for an allrounder?s place in the Indian team. I have been working hard on my bowling for the last one-and-a-half years and I also had a good time playing for Lancashire. There I bagged quite a few wickets apart from scoring runs,? he said.

?It is tough to find a place in the Indian team as a batsmen and that is why I have decided to concentrate more on bowling too.?

Mongia said he was taking tips from Anil Kumble and Lancashire?s Mike Watkinson to improve his bowling skills. ?Anil has been helping me out and Lancashire man Mike Watkinson is also a great help.?

?The selectors are doing their job. The Indian batting is too strong. The best I can do is score runs and perform even better to get a nod from the selectors. The wicket here looks good and hopefully I will be among runs,? Mongia signed off. (PTI)