Birmingham, Aug 14: India lost the third Test, the four-match series and the No. 1 ranking in Test cricket all on the same day to England at Edgbaston.

In a post-match media-interaction, Indian skipper MS Dhoni spoke about the events that had unfolded so far in the series and reviewed India’s performance.

Excerpts:

On whether it is the magnitude of the defeat that is going to pinch the team a lot more than the fact of it

A defeat is a defeat; it is important to realise the fact that we didn’t play to the kind of potential that we have got. If you are considering percentage, maybe we just played 60 or 65 percent of what we are capable of, [and] that’s the main reason why we have not done well in the series so far.

On the plan for the day

Initially what you want to do as a side is to restrict the opposition from freely scoring runs and we failed a bit in doing that; there was a boundary every over until the spinners were brought in and they were able to somehow cramp them for runs. But we gave away runs fast, which meant we had to bat [for] two days, which is difficult even if it is the flattest track in the world. It started to turn a bit which meant it would become slightly difficult for the batsmen so overall we were not able to achieve what we were looking for.

On whether India missed Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh

That’s one thing we can say but at the end of the day, we don’t really have control over injuries. Zaheer Khan got injured, then Harbhajan Singh; so rather than cribbing about the fact [saying], ‘If those two bowlers were there maybe something would have been different’, what’s important is [to see] whether the youngsters made the most out of the opportunities that they got. For [the] long-term profit of Indian cricket, it is important to give youngsters [a fair] amount of games that are needed before they are permanent when it comes to international cricket.

On Rahul Dravid’s dismissal (whether Dravid thought he had nicked it; the replays were not conclusive)

He was very confused because if you see the replays, his bat hit the lace of the shoe and it’s very rare; I have not seen anything like that. Rahul thought he didn’t hit anything, in the sense that the bat didn’t hit the pad or the shoes which meant that the only thing it could have hit was the ball. So in that confusion he didn’t ask for the DRS [Decision Review System].

On whether Dravid should have gone for the DRS if he wasn’t sure about the dismissal

Maybe if you are not hundred percent [sure] you should and that’s what it is all about. But at times these are the small things; it is very difficult to take that decision at that point of time because you know it’s a very unexpected thing, hitting the lace of your shoe at the [same] time that the ball passes and goes to the keeper; so it was a bit confusing. But if you are not hundred percent [sure], you should always take the option if it is there.

On what he feels had gone wrong and why the batting line-up hasn’t been able to reach 300 runs yet

It’s a very difficult task; in one hour I can’t say what went wrong but to make it simple, we were not able to keep the good deliveries out [and] that’s what is needed at the top level. The opposition will bowl good deliveries at you and you need to keep them away and not get out. When you have the ball on your side you need to score runs; I think we were not able to consistently do that.

On whether India can turn it around at the Oval

The bowlers have done decently well with whatever opportunities they have got. We have bowled close to over 600 overs in the last three games so it has been tough - not to forget, most [team-members] played the West Indies ODI and Test match series. They are putting in a lot of effort and hopefully our batting line-up will click and we will be able to put par plus runs on the board.