Virat Kohli reveals where it went wrong for India in Cardiff

England staged a stunning come back in the second T20 International to level the three-match series in Cardiff. Alex Hales was the hero for them who shrugged off all the criticism and played a matured knock of 58 runs and remained unbeaten until the end. But the Indian captain Virat Kohli feels that the way they tackled their nemesis, Kuldeep Yadav, in the middle overs made the difference.

After winning the toss, the hosts bowled well to leave India at 22/3 within the powerplay overs. They could never recover from the early blows and could only post a fighting total of 148 runs on a sluggish track. In response, the visitors also began their defence well by picking wickets at the regular intervals and were hoping for the chinaman Kuldeep to wreak havoc once again.

But England batsmen were ready for the stern test and they played him really well despite the fact that they struggled to pick him early on in his spell. The likes of Eoin Morgan and Jonny Bairstow smashed him for sixes while Hales ensured that he didn’t give away his wicket. In the end, Kuldeep returned with the underwhelming figures of 0/34. The thriller was won comfortably by England in the last over as they pushed the series into the decider.

Kohli credits England

Virat Kohli, while speaking after the game, credited the opposition for executing their plans well against the X-factor Kuldeep. He had no qualms in admitting that the hosts were a better side on the day as they gunned down the middling total. “They played Kuldeep really well today, and that was the difference in the middle overs this time. They did their homework and played Kuldeep really well. Need to get back day after,” he said.

He also pointed out the boundary conceded by Umesh Yadav in the penultimate over but didn’t blame anyone for the loss and felt it is important to move on and focus on the next game. “The format is cruel: Umesh was outstanding, but the final-ball boundary changed things. Those little things count. Gotta brush it aside, had a good game, but England were better than us,” Kohli added.

The Indian captain also lamented the fact that it was tough for them to score freely having lost three wickets upfront. “It’s always difficult to come back after losing three early wickets. England hit the right areas and made us play bad shots. I would have liked to 10-15 runs more. We thought 149 would be competitive, especially since they had to win. But eventually, they did win,” he concluded.

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