Made too many mistakes against a world-class side: Cook

Mohali: England captain Alastair Cook has blamed sloppy fielding for his side’s drubbing at the hands of rampaging India in the ongoing series, which they lost after biting dust in the third ODI at Mohali. England failed to defend 298 as India won by five wickets in Mohali last night to pocket the series. The visitors had lost in Hyderabad by 126 runs and then in Delhi by eight wickets “It was an improved performance from the last two games. We played better but that wasn’t enough to win the game.” “Our mistakes on the field cost us 20-25 runs today,” a disappointed Cook said at the post-match press conference. [caption id=“attachment_113539” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Alastair Cook has blamed sloppy fielding for his side’s loss to India at Mohali on Thursday. Reuters”]  [/caption] “We made too many mistakes against a world-class side and that’s frustrating. The score of 300 was decent one. It was defendable but mistakes on the field cost us the match.” England committed numerous errors on the field with wicket-keeper Craig Kieswetter guilty on two occasions, a dropped chance of Virat Kohli and then a missed run out opportunity of Ravindra Jadeja, who in captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s company, brought India home. “We prepared for the series as well as we could but just couldn’t deliver on the field,” said Cook. Down 0-3, the English skipper said it would be a challenge to lift the side for the remaining games of the series. “Two more games to go but it’s tough to pull up when you know the series is lost,” Cook said. He praised Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, terming him as one of the best finishers of the game. “That’s why MS Dhoni has a fantastic career. He made his career by finishing off games.” Cook also had words of appreciation for Jonathan Trott, who shaped the England innings with an unbeaten 98. “Trott played the anchor role. We needed batsmen to play around him.” The English skipper observed that in the absence of Stuart Broad (injured) and James Anderson (rested), the young English attack failed to rise to the occasion. “Broad can’t be here because of injury and we decided to rest James as part of our long-term planning. It was an excellent opportunity for other bowlers to perform in Indian conditions,” he signed off. PTI