Alastair Cook happy with England’s win in Indian conditions

A close victory over the home side in the opening One Day International (ODI) has proved that England can play good cricket in tough Indian conditions, according to skipper Alastair Cook.

The Englishmen finally broke 13-match losing streak, and upset the home side in a never-wracking contest on Friday. The Poms enjoyed no luck on their previous Indian venture in 2011, including a 5-0 whitewash and a tied match in the ICC World Cup.

Finally breaking the shackles at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Khanderi, Rajkot, the English side beat India by nine runs. Batting first, the Cook-led crew posted a massive total of 325 runs on the board, thanks to brilliant work by openers,
Cook and Ian Bell.

Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan also contributed 40-odd runs apiece, and guided the side to a handy total. In reply, the Men in Blue got off to a great start, as Gautam Gambhir smashed a quick half-century.

Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina also added fifties, but JC Tredwell proved too hot to handle. The 30-year-old replaced Graeme Swann, who was rested for the ODIs. He bowled well to pick up four wickets, and steered his side to a close 9-run win.

After victory, Cook said: “It is important, for the main reason that it gives us the confidence. It’s pretty much the same squad that we had the last time out here when we lost 5-0. So to get an early win, especially in the first game, it proves that we
can play in these conditions."

"I think we’re still the underdogs, because India are so strong at home. But it was a really good 50-overs game for us today. It’s very hard to stop runs on this wicket, and we didn’t get too carried away by their start. Tredders [James Tredwell, who took
4 for 44] was really brilliant, and everyone held their nerves very well, especially towards the end when it was getting tight," he added.

The second encounter between the two sides is scheduled to be played at Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Tuesday, January 15^th.

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Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on Jan 12 2013. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry