 The English captain Alastair Cook said that he had considered dropping
himself from the side in the second ODI after news filtered in that the game will
be reduced to 23 overs instead of the 50 overs. However, in the end, it was Jonathon Trott who had to be dropped and Cook went on to score a huge match-winning innings.
Cook was declared the man of the match for his solid, and rather quick 80.
Cook is an ODI captain but he has not been selected in the T20I version of the
game. The reduction in the number of overs to 23 would have meant that the game
was going to be a near T20 fixture, which would have made it difficult for Cook,
the batsman.
Cook, while speaking to a newspaper said that the dropping was spoken about
in the dressing room as they wanted players who could be aggressive and that
was the reason why even Samit Patel had been called up into the game.
However, Cook said that he was desperate improve and hoped that he would be
able to continue to play in the way he had in the game.
India had scored 186 in their 23 overs which meant that England needed
to score a rather stiff 187 for the win, but England scored those runs in a
rather easy, 22.1 overs. Cook was involved with his partner Craig Kieswetter
in a 67-run opening stand that lasted six overs.
Cook then went on to take up the mantle of hitting the ball once Kieswetter got
out, scoring 80 off 63 deliveries, that included a total five fours and a rare
six. Incidentally, this was only his second six in international one-dayers.
Cook admitted that they had won the toss and wanted to bat first because they
had thought that it was swing around and with the moisture underneath, it would
make batting difficult. However, he said that the pitch was fantastic for batting
and said that Kieswetter's innings set the tempo for the English side.
India are now 0-1 down in the series and in the six matches that have gone to
their closure, they have not won a single game. They will soon need to start winning
or face up to a bundle of queries from their fans and board alike.
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