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Captain Cook optimistic of England fight back
Pushed on the backfoot by two heavy defeats against India, England captain Alastair Cook reckons that he has "got the right players" to stage a turnaround in the ODI series and it was just a case of the team not performing to its potential.
India defeated England for a comprehensive eight-wicket win in the second one-day international in New Delhi on Monday.
"After two heavy defeats, there is bound to be some questions asked about the team. We have the self-belief and there is no reason why we can't do it here," Cook said.
"The conditions here are different, and it played a big role in today's game. It was hard to stop (Virat) Kohli and (Gautam) Gambhir once they got going. They really played well to take the game away from us," he said.
'We were a little short on the basics'
Cook said that his team has prepared well for the series by coming to India well in advance but the players have not been able to carry their recent form into these games.
"We do have the players to do well in these conditions. There are no major changes in the team. It is just that we are not being able to deliver," he said.
The England captain admitted that the two huge defeats will put some doubts in the mind on whether changes are required in the playing combination to be able to put it across the hosts. "There will be questions. We have got the skills. We were a little short on the basics in the first two matches and we paid a price", he explained.
'Vinay kept it simple'
"In today's game, we did not start well after winning the toss. We just could not recover. We have to face it that we did not play well enough," he said.
The England opener had words of praise for paceman Vinay Kumar who bowled "really well" and gave his time vital breakthroughs.
"Vinay bowled in the right areas and it worked. He kept it simple, that's it", he said.
Cook said it will be a challenge for him to keep his team in the right frame of mind for the do-or-die game in Mohali on October 20. "It will be a challenge to make sure that everyone is in the right frame of mind. We have to do well in Mohali," he added.