JOIN USIndia captain Mahendra Dhoni said losing the toss affected his side’s performance but called it “a good exposure” for the batsmen in seaming conditions.
India lost the fifth and last one-dayer to England by seven wickets on Sunday, and Dhoni admitted they needed to bat sensibly.
“We should have won this game. If it is an early start, then the seamers get a lot of help from the wicket. I think it was a bad toss to lose but since we had already won the series, it was a good exposure for the batsmen as to how they need to play the seaming ball.
But as the game progressed, the wicket dried up and became better to bat on. But still, throughout the game, the bowlers got a bit of swing,” Dhoni told reporters.
“It was good that we finished off the series quite early. If you lead 3-1 in a five-match series, I would say it is a very good performance.”
Unfair rules
Dhoni said they were getting used to the new rules but maintained they were unfair for bowlers.
“Well, slowly we are getting used to it you don’t always get to know what is a good score on a wicket. One thing we have realised is that if you have wickets in hand, in the last 10 overs, more often than not on a good wicket you will score at least 100 runs which means at the end of the 35th over, if you are just 150-155, by the end of the end of the 50th overs, you will have a minimum of 250 runs if you have wickets in hand,” he said. “But still I feel it is a bit unfair on the bowlers with five fielders inside. Even the best of bowlers are struggling,” he said.
Dhoni’s counterpart Alastair Cook was happy to close the series on a high.
“It was very important to end the series on a high. There’s always disappointment when you come to try and win a series then lose 2-3. I thought the way the lads performed today was really good. It was Important toss to win but you still have to execute your skills and I thought our opening bowlers did that very well. When you are 49/4, it gives you a great chance to win and we did that,” said the left-handed opener from Essex.