A watery end to a mundane series The last two days at Bangalore were almost entirely lost to rain. In the little play that was possible on the fourth afternoon, England managed to clean up the Indian tail after which their openers put on 33 runs. But then the skies opened again and sadly no further play was possible. The English camp though must have been happy at having secured a 98-run first innings lead. Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff, who both claimed four wickets for the first time in a Test innings, were the stars as India were dismissed for 238. Despite their tepid performance in the last two Tests, the win at Mohali saw India claim the series. At the post-match press-conference, Sourav Ganguly, admitted the failings of his side saying the "batting needs to be a bit more consistent”. He though felt that “Javagal Srinath, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble and Tinu Yohannan bowled very well". One man Ganguly did not mention was Sachin Tendulkar. The little master was in fine form and not surprisingly he walked away with the Man of the Series award.

Hussain is pleased Nasser Hussain's England team hatched a plan to tackle the Indians after losing the first Test in Mohali by ten wickets. The plan did not let them down, helping them to be on top of the home side for the best part of the remaining fortnight. Despite losing the series 1-0, the England skipper emerged from the series a happy man. At the post-match press conference in Bangalore, he listened carefully to the queries and answered them with conviction. He started off cautiously, saying that his young side had a tough time in Mohali where their abysmal batting was responsible for the Test loss. "We have played some good cricket throughout the series and I am very pleased with the side and the way they responded. Obviously losing 1-0, you don't start cracking open the champagne. I am very pleased with the way the young side has played." Hussain added that they have enjoyed the tour of India. "We have enjoyed everything about the tour, people have enjoyed being out there and I think that is the biggest plus when you play cricket like that as a team, that is when the results on the field will come." Hussain also took the opportunity to defend his ‘negative tactics’. "All I will tell you is that we had bowled India out for 290 in the last Test and 230 in this Test. An Australian side came over here last winter with the bowling line up of McGrath, Gillespie and Warne and this same batting line up on a turning wicket were 570/6, VVS Laxman 281."

Borde springs a few surprises People say the second biggest job in India, after the Prime Minister's, is being captain of the cricket team. Sourav Ganguly knows all about that. There is another man working behind the scenes in international cricket, however, who is in a tricky situation himself. Chandu Borde, Chairman of selectors, is almost always at the receiving end of criticism when a team is announced. At the end of the third Test against England at Bangalore, Borde announced the teams that would take part in this year's Challenger Trophy. With Tendulkar and Srinath resting, the tournament lost a bit of its glamour but it is nevertheless a priceless opportunity for youngsters to showcase their talent. Just before addressing a press conference, Borde whispered with a conspiratorial wink, "I have a plane to catch. Let's hope this is over quickly." It has not. Ever heard the names Zakaria Zuffri, Sanjay Pandey or Sangram Singh? You better get to know them in a hurry, they could be playing for India before you know it!

Pithy remarks and quotable quotes. Wordsworth takes the best statements of the week and packages them into one exciting feature. Click Here The Indian captain Sourav Ganguly's holds forth at the end of a Test series that did not see his team at their finest. Click Here Watching cricket is second in excitement only to playing the game. Hone your skills at CricInfo's coaching site. Click Here