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Inzamam's bat slipped, says Woolmer

Bob Woolmer spoke after the game on where his team went wrong

Bob Woolmer spoke after the game on where his team went wrong. Here's what he had to say:


Mahendra Dhoni: played "fantastically well" according to to Bob Woolmer © AFP
On Mahendra Dhoni
He played fantastically well, along with Virender Sehwag today. He is a big hitter of the ball but I don't think we bowled well enough to him and generally in the first hour and a half today. We allowed him to get underneath the ball which you can't do in ODI cricket and if we bowl like this to him again, then he will play fantastically well again.
On where the game was lost
The key to losing the game was our bowling first thing this morning. Later, although we batted well, we lost wickets at crucial stages.
On the reliance on part-time bowlers
In Australia, where the pitches are good, they also bowled well so I don't think it is a question of a wrong strategy. I just think our skill levels haven't been up to the mark in both the games we have played so far.
On missing Younis Khan
I think we are missing him, he is very alive in the field and he keeps the team bubbling but he hasn't been a big part of our ODI team for some time now so he doesn't come in to the team that easily.
On Inzamam's anger at his run-out
He is a very cool person. His bat just slipped out of his hand as he walked back to the pavilion.
On the weather
The weather wasn't as much a factor today as it was in Cochin. I think we had the better conditions fielding in the morning and the Indians had it much worse in the afternoon.
On shuffling the batting order
We shuffled it for obvious reasons with such a big target to chase and even though Afridi didn't score we got it about right. We made nearly 300 with six overs to go so I think the batting worked well and our run-rate was about right throughout. The only problem was that we lost wickets at crucial junctures.
On taking positives from the game
Yousuf Youhana batted really well today and I think in the field we were committed; we chased hard and were determined. Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan bowled fantastically well today as well.
On why Danish Kaneria is not in the ODI team
I think we have enough variety in our attack. Shahid Afridi bowls his leg-spin and Mohammad Hafeez can bat. Arshad Khan has also done well since he has come in.
On where to from here
The euphoria of Bangalore has been shelved and we need to improve now and win the next game if we want to win this series. We have to do all things well at the same time now. In Cochin, we bowled well but batted poorly - 282 was a gettable target. Here we batted well but bowled badly so we need to get it right for the next game. We have not played out ODI game well and we need to bounce back now. The one-day game is a lottery anyway but we just haven't played well enough.
Osman Samiuddin is a freelance journalist based in Karachi.