Defending his decision to field first, captain Rahul Dravid has said India
were done in because of their "all round disappointing performance"
while England played "a perfect one-day game" in the one-day
cricket series opener.
Indian bowlers struggled to take wickets after Dravid opted
to bowl in overcast conditions as England went on to score 288 for 2 and then
the visitors were rolled over for 184 to suffer 104-run defeat in the day and
night match yesterday.
"I thought there would be a bit more for the bowlers in
the wicket," Dravid said after the match.
"Credit to the opposition. They played a perfect one-day game. They really
batted well, got two guys who went on and got a hundred. It's exactly what you
want. They then took wickets up front with the new ball," he said.
"The partnership between (Ian) Bell and (Alaistar) Cook
(178) was a good one. They really put us under pressure." Dravid said it
was a problem to find the right balance in bowling attack in the absence of
a genuine all-rounder.
"For us, it's a bit of an issue because of the lack of a genuine all-rounder,"
he said.
He also said his players needed to improve their fielding and be more careful
in their running between the wickets.
"It's an area we've got to try to improve. On big grounds like this, we
are not overnight going to get strong arms and big throws.
"Not making stupid mistakes running between the wickets, that's something
we can definitely control and work on.
"It's been a disappointing performance all round but there are six games
to go and hopefully we'll bounce back."
|
