Ganguly praises fifth-wicket pair

England captain Nasser Hussain admitted he was disappointed with England's finishing after the six-wicket defeat by India in the NatWest Series.

"I thought we played well for large parts of the match but obviously the last 10 or 12 overs didn't go our way and they bowled pretty well and we lost wickets at regular intervals," Hussain said.

"We were 20 or 30 runs short in the end; we had a chance to get a score they would struggle to get but converted into a score which they could get. Their bowlers got it into good areas and we struggled to get it away. And we found out that their batting line-up is very long and very strong.

"Their side can turn it around in a matter of overs whereas we have to play well all the way through."

India's skipper Sourav Ganguly said that the fifth-wicket partnership was vital to his team's success.

"Yuvraj and Dravid played two splendid innings," Ganguly said.

"I thought England would get 300 when they were 200 after 35 overs with seven wickets in hand but we bowled well. We have been trying to get the batting line-up right and I hope it works in the long run as it did today. It's not the first time Yuvraj has won a game for India."

Meanwhile Yuvraj praised his partner Dravid, saying: "Rahul told me to hit it along the ground and he would take the risks if we needed to take them."