Cardiff, Sept 16: Although India lost the rain affected five-match ODI series 0-3, skipper MS Dhoni was adjudged the Man-of-the-Series for being the highest run-getter with 236 runs at an average of 78.66.The Indian skipper smashed an unbeaten 50 off 26 balls in the final game against England to help the visitors score 304 runs after being asked to bat.

As has been the case throughout the series, the last game of the tour was time and again interrupted by rain. India struggled, and ultimately failed, to keep England from meeting the revised target of 241 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method.

As a depleted India return from the tour without a win, MS Dhoni looks back at the dismal series in a post-match media-interaction.

Excerpts:

On the weather playing spoilsport

In quite a few games it happened but we can’t control [those things]. The main blow was losing Munaf [Patel] with four overs of his left; he is our main bowler in the absence of Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra so I think it was a big blow. But at the same time it gave an opportunity to someone like Vinay Kumar to see how it is [to play in these conditions]. It’s a bit tough out here, especially [because of the] droplets on the field; it gets a bit difficult, [you] don’t get any sort of reverse swing going. Difficult conditions but it is good exposure.

On the bowlers being unable to defend the target no matter how many runs India posted

In this game 300-odd runs is not enough. You have to look to score 340-odd runs in each and every game. But the English bowlers are very good; there are part-timers who can do a decent job, which means they are a very good side. Whatever we got, especially in this game, we should have managed with those runs but [it] doesn’t always go your way. It has been tough for the new bowlers [who] have been part of the side.

On whether the way forward for the Indian side was to stick with the new players that have been introduced into the side

Of course we need to – these are the players who have been playing, especially the ODI format, for the last six to eight months; so the [young] players will be playing most of the games. Fielding is one of the key departments so with the coming of Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, [Ravindra] Jadeja, Manoj Tiwary we look like a very good fielding side. It can save those 10-12 runs on the field, it can always add on to the total that we get.

On whether the tour was a wake-up call for the Indian team

Definitely we need to manage the injuries because that’s a big thing for us, losing nine to ten players. In each and every game we lost at least one player on an average so that is a big blow. Managing with the resources that we have got, losing a bowler in the middle of the game becomes a bit difficult. If you lose a bowler before the start of a game or before the series [it is] fair enough because you have got talented bowlers who, if given proper exposure and field settings, you can still manage to do good things with. But we have lost quite a few bowlers right in the middle of the game.