Kochi: England captain Alastair Cook said that they were totally outclassed and outplayed by India in the second ODI match that they lost by a huge margin of 127 runs.
"Last 10 overs took the match away from us. We gave 100 runs. It spun a little more when we batted. But you cannot use that as an excuse. We were out batted today. In the first ten overs we had a chance to get three-four wickets. We didn’t do that. Credit to India they put us under pressure,” said Cook.
Meanwhile, happy about beating England and levelling the series at 1-1, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that everybody played their part in the match and despite the openers failing, India did well to get to 285 and later bowled superbly to win the match comprehensively.
Praising Yuvraj and Kohli for giving the platform after the initial hiccups, Dhoni said it wasn’t a wicket where he could have taken a decision to bowl first after winning the toss. "We didn't get a good start. There openers were finding it difficult as the ball was seaming. But Yuvraj and Kohli gave us the platform. It seemed like a wicket that may flatten. We thought it will dry up and spinners may not get much turn. Good that I was wrong and our spinners got turn. Initially when there was something for the fast bowlers, it is important to see that phase off. It was not a wicket where you could win the toss and bowl first,” said Dhoni, stating that the responsibility was more on the batsman.
“Initially, when I and Raina had a partnership, we thought let us look for 240 or 250, and then when we are settled, lets target 260. We ended up getting 15 more. So that was good on our part. Jadeja did pretty well towards the end,” said Dhoni, adding that it was a perfect Test match wicket which had something both for the pacers and the spinners.
“I think the wicket was a perfect Test wicket, something for the fast bowlers and turn for the spinners which is what we are looking for,” said Dhoni, adding that he is looking to play the next game at Ranchi.
“To go and play the next game in my city Ranchi will be very special. The crowd here was really superb, not to forget the heat and the humid weather, they remained and cheered us from the very first ball.”
Man-of-the-match, Ravindra Jadeja said that he enjoyed his batting. "I enjoyed my batting. Wicket was good. The ball was coming on to the bat and I tried to play cricketing shots. I have played for Kochi in IPL in 2011, so I knew the wicket was bit slow and once you get in, you can score runs. Dhoni was telling me not to throw away my wicket. I was also talking to Raina. I said ball is turning, I might get wickets on this surface,” said an ecstatic Jadeja.