England ODI captain Harry Brook has voiced his reasons behind England’s six-wicket defeat to India in the first ODI of the three-game series at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Tuesday, July 14, as India took a 1-0 lead.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Brook has reckoned that losing five wickets for 20-odd runs in the middle overs turned the momentum towards the visitors. Notably, England slipped from 61/0 to 80/5 as India gained momentum.
“Not ideal, obviously. I think we lost 5 for 20 in that middle period, which is always going to put us on the back foot. But I thought the way that the boys fought there and tried to get us back in the game with the ball was phenomenal. And to get us a decent total in the end, which we thought we could potentially defend, was a great effort from the lads,” Harry Brook said after the game.
“Obviously, losing 5 for 20 is never ideal. We’d have definitely liked to have played slightly better in that period of the game. But like I said, getting 260 on the board, having that period as well, was a great effort from Rooty and Dawsy, that partnership, and a couple of little cameos at the back as well,” he added.
Furthermore, Brook has insisted that the surface turned out to be a bit batting-friendly as the innings progressed to India’s 259-run chase. India took 45.2 overs to chase down the target with six wickets in hand.
“We thought that the pitch changed quite a bit as well. It got a little bit slower, and it just allowed them to cruise along, really. They only really needed to go at 5-6 an over. And, yeah, at the break, we thought we might have had enough if the pitch had stayed the same,” he concluded.
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