Gaekwad was reacting to Sunil Gavaskar's criticism in his syndicated column that India should have opted to bat on winning the toss.

Gavaskar criticism was based on India's poor history in chasing target, ``especially under pressure''.

``I read Sunil's (Gavaskar) column and I don't agree with it. There was lot of moisture on the pitch and the shoe spikes sunk into it. That's how soft it was. And South Africa had five fast bowlers to take advantage of the early dampness while we had just two,'' said Gaekwad in his defence.

Gaekwad said India did not posses the batting depth of the South Africans. ``Imagine if we had batted first and lost three early wickets like the South Africans. Where would it have left us?'' he queried.

He said the loss against South Africa was because India gave far too many runs in the finalthree overs and then messed things up during the end stages of the chase.

The Indian coach lauded the team's improved consistency in Toronto and Kenya, more so in the absence of some key players like Sachin Tendulkar, Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble.