Nasser Hussain admitted his side had been well beaten after lady luck turned her back on England in Durban.
Hussain can hardly bear to watch as England slump to defeat
Hussain's men were condemned to bat second under lights after losing the toss and they never looked like getting close to a target of 251 as India's seamers bowled superbly.
England's had exploited helpful conditions in their previous game against Pakistan, also a day-night affair.
But there was no such advantage in Durban on Wednesday.
"It was our turn to be on the other side of the equation tonight," Hussain said after the 82-run loss to India.
"Batting under lights is very difficult but all credit to India. They bowled well and hit the deck hard, but everything seemed a lot quicker under lights.
"The ball was zipping around, they got it right and played very well."
Flintoff was exceptional - he had a very good day
Hussain said that he fancied England's chances of chasing down the target after his bowlers fought back to limit India's score.
"We always thought we could get there, but after the first 10 or 15 overs of batting, we knew it was going to be very hard."
And the England skipper reserved special praise for Andrew Flintoff, who excelled with both bat and ball.
"Flintoff was exceptional," Hussain said: "He had a very good day."
England now face an uphill battle to qualify for the Super Sixes with the prospect of the decision to boycott their match in Zimbabwe returning to haunt them.
To have any realistic hope of progressing, they must beat Australia in their final first-round game, something they have not achieved in their last 13 meetings with the World Cup holders.