KP - We're on the right road

Pietersen: Keeping the faith

We have a squad here that beat South Africa convincingly and we're on the road to doing something all right

Kevin Pietersen
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Kevin Pietersen insists England are making progress despite suffering a second straight one-day defeat against India.

Having been hammered in the series opener on Friday, the tourists put up a better fight in Indore but slumping to a 54-run loss.

They had India 29-3 but let them off the hook, Yuvraj Singh leading the recovery with his second successive century to get the total up to 292.

The in-form all-rounder followed up his knock of 118 by claiming 4-28 with his left-arm off-spin as England were bowled out for 238 in the 47th over.

Chance

"At 29-3 we definitely had a chance," Pietersen said on Sky Sports. "We let it slip there.

"And then after the (third) powerplay, when Freddie (Flintoff) and I got the momentum back with England, we lost ourselves to Yuvraj.

"Then again, Yuvraj has played a fantastic game again today. To score a hundred and take four for nothing, the boy is playing good cricket.

"We improved from the last game, let's hope we improve for (the third ODI in) Kanpur. We had a good start with the ball, we need to carry on that start.

"With the batting, some of us got in but just missed out, none of them carried on. We needed one of the top four or five to go on and get a big score to take this game a lot closer."

Pietersen remained confident that England were on the right lines in one-day cricket, adding: "We have a squad here that beat South Africa convincingly and we're on the road to doing something all right."

Opposite number Mahendra Singh Dhoni praised the efforts of Yuvraj and Gautam Gambhir, who made 70 to help India recover from a poor start.

The duo put on a partnership of 134 for the fourth wicket that allowed the home side to reach a total way beyond their original expectations.

Good target

"We were in a scenario where we were looking to get 200 first, then maybe closer 250. That would have been a good target," Dhoni admitted.

"We ended up getting 290 thanks to Gautam, Yuvraj and Yusuf Pathan. It was a great for Gautam and Yuvraj to perform for a second game in a row.

"That is one of the policies of the team - once you are going well in the series you have to take the team through.

"We didn't get a good start in this innings, so we were trying to get 200 runs in the middle overs. As the partnership between Gautam and Yuvraj grew then we thought 225-230. It just kept on mounting."

Dhoni believes the squad is coming together nicely under his leadership, with all the players enjoying the success of their colleagues.

"We have talented cricketers in our side and the best part of our side is we're enjoying each other's success," the wicketkeeper-batsman said.

"If I get a 50 I will definitely enjoy it, but if my team-mates start enjoying it too, that's the time when you know you are making a real team out of individuals."