India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni may have put up a brave front at the post-match media briefing, but disappointment was writ large on his face
He showed his frustration while entering the media centre. Just outside the conference hall, a television set showed the official broadcasters’ analysts doing a post-mortem of the seven-wicket defeat and suggesting steps towards an improvement.u00a0
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Seeing what was happening on television, Dhoni, while making his way to the hall, switched off the television and said: “Need some peace.”
Lord’s of Eden
The galleries at Eden Gardens had a good number of English fans to see their side taking a 2-1 lead on Day Five of the Third Test. Blocks B, C, D on the right of the clubhouse had more English fans than Indians.
As expected, captain Alastair Cook and his men did a victory lap and acknowledged the crowd for their support through five days.
It even prompted a senior cricket writer from England to utter, “Eden looks like Lord’s”.
Boycs upset
India's poor batting show has disappointed Geoffrey Boycott. Just after the fall of Team India skipper MS Dhoni’s wicket, Boycott said spontaneously on Saturday: “Even my mum and grandma could bat better than this.”
Asked by a journalist whether the match will spill into Day Five, Yorkshireman Boycott’s sharp reply was: “I thought you are more intelligent. Even my intelligence is better than the Indian batting,” he said with a laugh.
Dravid, a hit
Former India skipper Rahul Dravid had to continuously shuttle from the radio commentary box to the television commentary area for which he had to use a staircase in the middle of the clubhouse. Everytime he made his way to the television commentary box, he was mobbed by fans for autographs and photographs. Dravid obliged most of his fans. Even requests to make a comeback to save Indian cricket were made. u00a0