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Dravid critical of top order

By Harish Kotian in Faridabad
March 31, 2006 20:18 IST
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Having beaten England for the second time in a week to take a 2-0 lead in the seven-match One-Day International series, India skipper Rahul Dravid was quick to give the men who delivered their due.

The composure Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni displayed, while guiding India to a four-wicket victory in Faridabad on Friday, is a "great sign for the future", he said.

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"It was a great partnership between the two. They kept a cool head under pressure," he added.

He also acknowledged the role Ramesh Powar played in restricting the Englishmen, saying the off-spinner bowled "beautifully".

While admitting he was worried after the loss of the fifth wicket, he was critical of the team's top order that succumbed meekly.

"The top order suffered from poor shot selection and at 92 for five I was very worried," Dravid said.

England captain Andrew Flintoff felt a few more runs on the board would have made a difference, but conceded his team was beaten by a "special knock".

"226 was a decent score but it would have been nice to get a few extra runs.

"We were in the game for a long time before [Suresh] Raina and [Mahendra] Dhoni took it from us."

Man of the match Raina said previous experience of chasing targets along with Dhoni proved useful.

"I just played my shots and knew that if we batted 50 overs, we would win," he said.

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Harish Kotian in Faridabad

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