Kirsten: Play Positive Against Mendis

Kirsten - praise for Dhoni.

India's South African coach Gary Kirsten believes a positive approach is the best way to combat the threat of Sri Lanka's rising star Ajantha Mendis.

Mendis initially caused problems for India on their tour of Sri Lanka, with the spinner claiming six wickets in the final of the Asia Cup.

He then played a vital role in Sri Lanka winning the Test series against Anil Kumble's side, finishing with a haul of 25 wickets from the three matches.

But Mendis hardly had an impact in the last three one-dayers which India won to clinch the series.

"We tried to keep away from too much talk," Kirsten told Times Now.

"There was so much talk about him that we sort of decided to talk less and play as positive as we can against him.

"Often, that positive intent makes a world of difference."

Kirsten also attributed the turnaround and the win in the one-day series,

India's first in Sri Lanka since 1985, to commitment from the players.

"Each player gave it some real thought as to what he needs to do as an individual," added the former Proteas opener.

"I thought the bowlers bowled exceptionally well in this series. It was great to see fast bowlers from India making a big difference in a series.

"From a batting point of view the players put their plans together on how they were going to face the different bowlers."

Kirsten admitted India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had also played a major role in the transformation of the team's fortunes.

"The way he is playing one-day cricket at the moment, one would have thought he's the best one-day batsman around in world cricket at the moment," he said.

"He's playing magnificently and obviously he would like to keep his form going as long as possible.

"He controls the game really well with the bat in hand."

Kirsten said he was not unduly worried about the way the Test team had performed and added that he was confident they would ready for the series against Australia.

"I wouldn't say (there are) a lot of concerns, but there were things we didn't do well here that cost us the Test series.

"Those are the areas which we would certainly address so that by the time the first Test against Australia comes around we would be fully prepared for the challenge."