India of 2012 different from India of 2016: Alastair Cook

After having lost the third Test at Mohali, England skipper Alastair Cook has a lot to ponder on what needs to be done in order to save face in the fourth and fifth Test matches at Mumbai and Chennai respectively. However, in recent times, Cook has had to deal with those who bring up the history of it all, especially the time the Brits clinched a 2-1 win over the Indians in 2012.

Cook also went on to state that the Indian team the Brits played back then was a different one. At the time, India boasted of players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Moreover, the England team also was significantly different. Only Alastair Cook and Joe Root are the batsmen who remain from the side. Stuart Broad and James Anderson were also part of the side that toured in 2012.

“The India we played in 2012 was different. Probably an aging team compared to now. It’s a different set-up, more youngsters, who also have got four years of experience in these conditions. Our team in 2012 was a lot more experienced side (Cook, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Jimmy Anderson, Graeme Swann, Monty Panesar) and played a lot more in the sub-continent before that.

“This side, only two in the top-order have played more than 1-2 games in the sub-continent before we played in Bangladesh. That’s probably the difference,” said Cook.

Alastair Cook also stated his frustration on the same stating that the visitors have indeed underperformed in their previous two matches. “We haven’t delivered in the last two games. There is nothing worse than that actually, when you know you can play better and you are not quite doing that.”

Cook was also candid enough to admit the fact that the pitch was rather badly misread. “I think all of us misread this pitch. If we would have known, we would have obviously gone in with four seamers and two spinners. Because the seamers are always in the game, with a bit of reverse swing. We can control the scoring rate. I looked at that wicket along with a number of people before the game that we thought is more a lot dry.

“We all thought it’s going to spin more. So in hindsight, we would have played four and two but I am quite happy with my decision because I thought it’s the right one at that time. We will have a look in Mumbai as to how it’s turning and bouncing,” the captain explained.

The England skipper Alastair Cook was all praise for the Indian pacer Mohammed Shami who showed no mercy to the England batsmen with his short bowling stuff.

“We have always known he is a good bowler. Played a lot against him and his record in the sub-continent is actually excellent. If you look at it, he bowls better here in say swinging conditions, which seems very surprising. They have got a good balance to their attack,” said Cook.