London: Indian skipper MS Dhoni has become a man of few words. Even though he has stoically faced the media and the questions at the end of every lost match on this tour, Dhoni on Friday admitted that he finally has an ODI team in place which has the right combination.
Injuries to key players through the English summer has cost India and it was expected that India will pull back the 4-0 whitewash of the Test series with some wins in the one-day series. That hasn't happened so far, but surely there has been a marked improvement in India's approach to the game.
"I think we lost too many early wickets and that cost us dear. We did very well to end up with that total (234). Jadeja batted really well and helped us set up a good total. The ball was doing quite a bit early on, but it did not do a lot when I went in, myself and Jadeja batted well to get ourselves to a good total," Dhoni said after the game.
Dhoni said that while the rain had affected their chance of winning the game, it wasn't the gamechanger.
"We went into the break and had the advantage that we did not loose too many runs despite losing seven overs. I had a chat with Duncan in the break, there was grass on the surface but it was soft underneath it," he said.
Dhoni said he was happy to have Ravindra Jadeja, who was adjuged man of the match, in the team as a left-arm spinning option.
"I am happy with the combination. We needed a left arm spinner since Yuvi was not there."
But Dhoni's statement clearly points to the lack of clarity shown by the BCCI selectors who waited for injuries to players before sending Jadeja as a replacement. Considering that Yuvraj had been ruled out of the ODI series during the Tests itself, Jadeja should have been picked for the original ODI squad.
Meanwhile, Dhoni's counterpart Alaistar Cook credited the England lower order for "a job well done".
"We knew the ball would do a bit and Anderson did very well to reduce them to five down. We batted pretty well in the start, though I was a bit surprised with the amount of spin that the pitch offered. The only worry was the fact that none of us got to an unbeaten 80 odd runs. Credit to Ravi, Tim, Broady and Swann for pulling us past the line," he said.
Injuries to key players through the English summer has cost India and it was expected that India will pull back the 4-0 whitewash of the Test series with some wins in the one-day series. That hasn't happened so far, but surely there has been a marked improvement in India's approach to the game.
AP Photo
On Friday, in yet another rain-affected game, India went down by three wickets to England after the Duckworth Lewis method kicked in. No point blaming the method this time though, England just held their nerves better. India lost the plot at the top of the innings when they lost wickets in a heap and then just when their bowlers seemed to have clawed back into the game, the rain hampered the momentum."I think we lost too many early wickets and that cost us dear. We did very well to end up with that total (234). Jadeja batted really well and helped us set up a good total. The ball was doing quite a bit early on, but it did not do a lot when I went in, myself and Jadeja batted well to get ourselves to a good total," Dhoni said after the game.
Dhoni said that while the rain had affected their chance of winning the game, it wasn't the gamechanger.
"We went into the break and had the advantage that we did not loose too many runs despite losing seven overs. I had a chat with Duncan in the break, there was grass on the surface but it was soft underneath it," he said.
Dhoni said he was happy to have Ravindra Jadeja, who was adjuged man of the match, in the team as a left-arm spinning option.
"I am happy with the combination. We needed a left arm spinner since Yuvi was not there."
But Dhoni's statement clearly points to the lack of clarity shown by the BCCI selectors who waited for injuries to players before sending Jadeja as a replacement. Considering that Yuvraj had been ruled out of the ODI series during the Tests itself, Jadeja should have been picked for the original ODI squad.
Meanwhile, Dhoni's counterpart Alaistar Cook credited the England lower order for "a job well done".
"We knew the ball would do a bit and Anderson did very well to reduce them to five down. We batted pretty well in the start, though I was a bit surprised with the amount of spin that the pitch offered. The only worry was the fact that none of us got to an unbeaten 80 odd runs. Credit to Ravi, Tim, Broady and Swann for pulling us past the line," he said.
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