London, Sept 08: Indian captain Rahul Dravid rued that despite packing the team with seven batsmen, his bowlers did not have enough runs to defend in the final ODI against England, which his side lost by seven wickets to concede the series.
Dravid said a total of around 250 could have allowed the bowlers to have a go at England but with the batting line-up not clicking, it was not to be.
"There were not enough runs in the board. I thought at least 240-250 would have been a good target. We lost early wickets and could not get the momentum going in our favour," Dravid said after India lost the final match by seven wickets which also gave the Natwest Series 4-3 to England.
It was a pathetic batting display as india folded for 187 in just 47.3 overs, and England romped home with 82 balls to spare and losing just three wickets.
Dravid also defended his decision to bat first even though India slumped to 59 for four wickets inside 16 overs.
"It was the right decision. We are playing with seven batsmen and it is just that we did not had the intensity today to get those extra runs," he said.
Though he returned to a dubious decision by umpire Aleem Dar even before he could open his account, Dravid seemed to have accepted the incident.
"I felt I had not nicked it. When I returned, I saw the replay and I was right. Anyway, it`s part of the game. You cannot do much about these things," he said.
While he praised the hosts for playing well in the series, Dravid also said that the long England summer had quite a few positives for his team.
"I am happy that the boys responded well and played like a group in the tour. There are a lot of positives to take from the series. We showed resilience, the way we came back in the
one-day series." He said.
Man of the Match Kevin Pietersen, who scored 71, said it was a different England outfit in the series.
"I am absolutely thrilled today. I was disappointed in the last game but I played with confidence today. The team has worked very hard. Every single player wants to go better and sky is the limit," he said.
Bureau Report
