Chasing England's 325 for four, India lacked the batting firepower and were restricted to a 316 for nine in a high-scoring contest to concede a 1-0 lead to visitors in the five-match series.
Till Dhoni (32) and Raina (50) were at the crease, India were well and truly on course but lost wickets in regular intervals to make life difficult for themselves.
"It was difficult but we should have got there. It was close to 280 or 290 rather than looking at it as 320-odd. Maybe I should have batted a few more overs," he said at the post-match presentation.
"I won't sound arrogant but it seemed easy when I and Raina were in, with five fielders in the circle. But once we fell, it was difficult," he said.
Dhoni lauded his spiners for bringing India back into the match in the middle overs after, electing to bat, England went off to a scintillating start.
"There was a situation in the middle when it looked they would have scored 340, but spinners got us back. It is a new batch of bowlers, not much experienced in international cricket," he said. More
