Eng Tour Of Ind 2011: News & Updates

[M@zh@R]

MSD, India remain unbeaten, blank England 5-0

England, raising hopes of pulling one back with a final fling, fell into the familiar pattern as Team India completed a clean sweep of the five-match Airtel ODI series with another emphatic win on Tuesday. Overcoming a mid-innings crisis, the Indians first scrambled to a formidable 271 for 7 in their quota of overs and then weathered a rollicking opening stand of 129 runs to win the fifth ODI by 95 runs.

After failing to record a single victory on their disastrous tour of England in the summer, the 5-0 scoreline would have brought Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men great satisfaction, especially in the light of the fact that several leading players had to skip the series through injuries.

The skipper led from the front on Tuesday, boosting a sagging run-rate with a flurry of sixes in the final overs after England skipper Alastair Cook had completed a clean sweep of the toss and put the hosts in.

After making a cautious start, Dhoni bludgeoned his way to an unbeaten 69-ball 75, his stature as the 'best finisher in ODIs' well reflected in the rare record of not being dismissed during the entire series.

England launched a rapid, credible reply with Craig Kieswetter and Cook taking the fight to the Indians with controlled aggression. While the new ball and the early overs of spin made no impression on the free-flowing English openers, it all changed after India's pace-bowling find Varun Aaron made the breakthrough by beating skipper Cook with an angular delivery. The spinners took over from there.
Newspaper: Times Of India, 26th Oct

 

[M@zh@R]

Alastair blames poor batting

Calcutta: Alastair Cook on Tuesday blamed inconsistent batting and inexperience for the debacle in the one-day series.

“The reason we lost all these games is that our batting was not consistent in this series… I am not quite sure why… You can say, inexperience did us in… Not many of them have played here. We needed to handle ourselves better under pressure…” Cook said.

The England captain felt the conditions made a difference.

“I think in England, the ball came onto the bat and we had a little bit more pace to work with. I think winning is a habit and losing certainly is a habit as well. In the summer in England, even if we lost a couple of quick wickets, we were confident to strike back…

“Over here, the confidence was not there… India were extremely confident and it was hard to stop them… I think our skills were not good enough in the way we handled ourselves and the way we kept on going,” explained Cook.

“We played some decent cricket in England. They struggled in our conditions and we struggled in theirs. It was not long ago that we were walking around with confidence… Now the tables have turned…”

Cook said Virat Kohli impressed him the most among the Indians.

“Obviously Virat impressed me... Suresh Raina and Dhoni played really hard on this tour. They were the backbone of the Indian side.”

The whitewash has come as a bit of a shock. “To be honest, it was a bit of shock. We did not bat well enough on this tour and we were caught on the wrong side…” he admitted.

Cook also praised Dhoni. “We bowled really well and got them in a really tight situation. We knew how hard Dhoni can bat… We prepared ourselves, but full credit to him.

“The way he batted today and got himself in was outstanding. He got them above par score.”

In his own team, Steven Finn is the one who has impressed Cook.

“I thought the way Finn bowled in this tour was outstanding… We were 130 for nil at a time and we could have achieved the target… But you could do nothing when you lose wickets in a cluster and we lost 10 of them today… I think we lost a couple of wickets and then the pressure started to mount on us…”

The England captain said there are a few positives which England are taking from this series.

"Only four of our players played in India before. The youngsters have learnt a lot from this tour. The experience will help them when they tour India in the future," said Cook.
Newspaper: The Telegraph, 26th Oct

 

[M@zh@R]

Cook left searching for answers

KOLKATA: Alastair Cook was left searching for answers after England's humiliating 0-5 ODI series defeat to India. The captain just couldn't figure out how his side could slump from 128 without loss to 176 all out.

"It's just shocking and very disappointing," he said. "I really don't know why, but the batting has let us down, not only today but in the whole series so to say," he said.

Talking about Tuesday's day-night game at the Eden Gardens, Cook said "the ball suddenly started to spin a lot more but I must admit we still didn't handle it that well."

He gave due credit to his Indian counterpart for pulling his team out of the woods. "We did bowl well today and possibly we could have restricted India to within 250. But all credit to MS Dhoni. He single-handedly took the score to 271," he said. Cook, who will be leaving for England on Wednesday, knows that his captaincy will come under fire, but he personally was keen to look at the bigger picture.

"I know results always count. It's tough to take this. But I will like to see this defeat as a blot during a fantastic year. This is the first India visit for a lot of guys in the side and it should be a learning experience for all of them," Cook hoped.

Cook tried to explain this reversal of fortunes in a simple way. "They struggled under our conditions and we struggled under theirs," he said.

The skipper pointed out Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Dhoni as the standout performers for India. "I think these three were very consistent throughout the series," he said. The England opener identified Steve Finn as the find of the series for England. "I think Finn bowled very well in the series and he has come up well," he said.
Newspaper: Times Of India, 27th Oct

 

[M@zh@R]

Losing ugly

With considerable success on the cricketing stage, comes a snappish temper. Or so it might seem having seen the incessant number of altercations that the England team have indulged in with the Indians so far. An Ashes victory in Australia, followed by climbing to the top of the Test rankings with a complete rout of India back home, England arrived in Hyderabad two weeks ago as the new overlords of the cricketing world.

But that indomitable aura that they seemed to command over the last three months has worn off rather rapidly with every single thrashing that Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his team have handed out to the visitors, one that ended in a resounding — some would also say revengeful — 5-0 thrashing in Kolkata. And while Alastair Cook & Co have barely managed to compete in any of the ODI matches, their only response was blowing their tops off and throwing some schoolboyish tantrums.
Newspaper:Indian Express, 27th Oct

 

[M@zh@R]

Cook's men plumbed new depths: British media

The British media slammed their national cricket team for the abject surrender in the 5-0 series whitewash by India, saying that they lacked both the technique and temperament to compete against Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men at alien conditions.

With headline 'England save the worst for last', tabloid 'Daily Mirror' said Alastair Cook's men "plumbed new depths with an abject collapse to complete a 5-0 whitewash in India".

"There can be no hiding place for an England team that have produced a woeful attempt at one-day cricket in the subcontinent and have been deservedly stuffed out of sight. And the manner in which Alastair Cook's side folded without so much as a parting shot in defiance reflects poorly on them," the tabloid said.

India completed a 5-0 series whitewash of England with a crushing 95-run victory in the fifth and final ODI in Kolkata yesterday.
Newspaper: Indian Express, 27th Oct

 

[M@zh@R]

Coach Flower is left 'embarrassed'

England coach Andy Flower labelled the whitewash to India as 'embarrassing' and has suggested he will overhaul the team for future tours.

"It was a bad loss and an embarrassing loss," he told Sky Sports. "I thought our preparations were good, but maybe I have misjudged that," he said. "We came over confident. Yes the conditions are different, but they are not that different. "I have to look at some of the decisions I made," rued Flower.
Newspaper:Mid Day, 27th Oct

 

[M@zh@R]

T20I: Indians regroup for last blast against England

KOLKATA: After a short Diwali break, it's back to business for Team India. MS Dhoni's men will have their only nets session ahead of Saturday's one-off Twenty20 International against England on Friday morning at the Eden Gardens while the visitors will have a knock in the afternoon.

With the hosts already upbeat after thrashing England 5-0 in the just-concluded 'revenge' series, they will be further bolstered by the inclusion of T20 specialists Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa.

England, on the other hand, spent two leisurely days in the city as they sought to recover from the ODI mauling. With ODI skipper Alastair having returned home along with Jonathan Trott, off-spinner Graeme Swann will be leading the side. It's their batsmen who let the team down in the ODIs, with the visitors losing all their wickets for 47 runs just two days ago. Saturday night's match will be played on the same pitch, so it remains to be seen if the England players have learnt a lesson.

The English batters had no answer to the Indian spinners under lights on Tuesday. While skipper Alastair Cook said "the ball suddenly started to spin a lot more," after the match, Dhoni called it an "ugly-looking pitch".
Newspaper:Times Of India,28th Oct

 

[ssparikshya]

India win toss and bat

 

[Karthik]

Robin uthappa and yusuf pathan makes comeback to indian team.

 

[Prashant Shridhar]

Ajiknya Rahane gone for duck.
INDIA-5/1