It was disappointing to lose the first Test to South Africa by an innings but it is now up to us to work on our weaknesses and play better in Centurion.

Looking back, generally I thought we bowled pretty well on day two after they were 299-1 on the first day. Our catching could have been better and we allowed the South African openers to get a great start and then (Hashim) Amla also cashed in after a dropped chance. That was the decisive point in the match because the wicket was doing a bit.

In batting I should say we could not apply ourselves properly on a pitch that was sporting. I don't think batsmen were guilty of gifting their wickets. The thing is you have to keep scoring, even in Test cricket, because no matter how long you stay in the middle you will never be set if you don't score.

You have to punish the loose balls after playing or leaving out the good ones. For example, I got a half volley in the first innings and I could not execute the drive properly and was caught. It was a four ball to any specialist batsman.

Tamim (Iqbal) and Zunaed (Siddique) had width and went for the cut shot. Unfortunately they also edged and got out. No batsman wants to come away from the middle. Our intent was right but the execution was not.

In terms of positves, Shakib (Al Hasan) was again outstanding with the ball and the pacers came good on day two. Mushfique's batting in the first innings and Mehrab's in the second also showed others how to go about batting on wickets that seam and bounce. These are little positives that we can take into the next Test and also the better knowledge of their bowlers and batsmen.

We always knew that South Africa have a very good bowling attack with world-class pacers. However, I still think we could have played them better.

It's true that we are not used to playing on wickets that have bounce but we tried to prepare the best we could. It is difficult for any visiting team in South Africa and not just us. We'll continue to work on our weaknesses and try to put up a better show in Centurion.