Cook delighted at ‘fantastic’ effort
Dhoni laments injuries as India end disastrous, win-less tour of England.
CARDIFF:
England One-Day International (ODI) captain Alastair Cook was a completely satisfied man after helping his team to a six-wicket win over India in the fifth and final rain-hit ODI, to seal the series 3-0 against the world champions.
Cook, captaining England for the first time in ODIs during the series, was delighted at the excellent start to his captaincy tenure.
“To remain unbeaten is a huge fillip to our side and it is a fantastic effort by the lads,” said Cook.
The hosts were well-served by debutant Jonny Bairstow, who blasted a dazzling unbeaten 41 off 29 balls to help England’s cause.
“To start off like this is a dream come true really,” said Bairstow, who had received his cap from fellow Yorkshireman Geoffrey Boycott. “He just said relax and enjoy it and that’s what I tried to do.”
Dhoni laments injuries
Meanwhile, India captain MS Dhoni was left ruing the injuries that had blighted his team throughout the tour.
“I’ve never seen so many injuries in the last five years,” he said. “To lose nine to eleven players in one series is something I can never forget.”
‘I don’t dread quitting’
The ODI was the last one for veteran India batsman Rahul Dravid, who said that he did not feel any sense of loss as his limited-overs career drew to a close.
“It doesn’t feel like I’m finishing in some sense,” he said. “I’ll still be doing the same things I’ve been doing. But I had to work harder on my ODI cricket than in Tests. I don’t dread quitting.”
Dravid expressed satisfaction that from being a player considered not suitable for ODI cricket, he went on to score more than 10,000 runs in the 50-over format.
“When I started playing, I wasn’t recognised as an ODI player. I ended up playing over 300 games for India.”
Kohli’s century in vain
Earlier, India looked to have posted a formidable total after piling up 304 for six, with Virat Kohli scoring a superb 107 and Dravid contributing 69. But rain left England with a revised target of 270 off 40 overs, later reduced to 241 after further interruption.
Cook (50) and Jonathan Trott (63) anchored the run chase, before Bairstow and Ravi Bopara (37*) finished things off for England.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2011.
England One-Day International (ODI) captain Alastair Cook was a completely satisfied man after helping his team to a six-wicket win over India in the fifth and final rain-hit ODI, to seal the series 3-0 against the world champions.
Cook, captaining England for the first time in ODIs during the series, was delighted at the excellent start to his captaincy tenure.
“To remain unbeaten is a huge fillip to our side and it is a fantastic effort by the lads,” said Cook.
The hosts were well-served by debutant Jonny Bairstow, who blasted a dazzling unbeaten 41 off 29 balls to help England’s cause.
“To start off like this is a dream come true really,” said Bairstow, who had received his cap from fellow Yorkshireman Geoffrey Boycott. “He just said relax and enjoy it and that’s what I tried to do.”
Dhoni laments injuries
Meanwhile, India captain MS Dhoni was left ruing the injuries that had blighted his team throughout the tour.
“I’ve never seen so many injuries in the last five years,” he said. “To lose nine to eleven players in one series is something I can never forget.”
‘I don’t dread quitting’
The ODI was the last one for veteran India batsman Rahul Dravid, who said that he did not feel any sense of loss as his limited-overs career drew to a close.
“It doesn’t feel like I’m finishing in some sense,” he said. “I’ll still be doing the same things I’ve been doing. But I had to work harder on my ODI cricket than in Tests. I don’t dread quitting.”
Dravid expressed satisfaction that from being a player considered not suitable for ODI cricket, he went on to score more than 10,000 runs in the 50-over format.
“When I started playing, I wasn’t recognised as an ODI player. I ended up playing over 300 games for India.”
Kohli’s century in vain
Earlier, India looked to have posted a formidable total after piling up 304 for six, with Virat Kohli scoring a superb 107 and Dravid contributing 69. But rain left England with a revised target of 270 off 40 overs, later reduced to 241 after further interruption.
Cook (50) and Jonathan Trott (63) anchored the run chase, before Bairstow and Ravi Bopara (37*) finished things off for England.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2011.