Cardiff, Jul 7: England could level the series since they came well-prepared to effectively tackle wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, India captain Virat Kohli said after they lost the second Twenty20 by five wickets.
Kohli had no qualms in admitting that the hosts were a better side in the second Twenty20 with the hosts comfortably chasing a 150-run target.
Kuldeep, who had bamboozled England batsmen in the series-opener and returned a five-wicket haul, remained wicket-less in second match last night.
“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,” Kohli opined after the match.
The India skipper said losing top-order inside five overs pegged the back. Rohit Sharma (5) , Shikhar Dhawan (10) and KL Rahul (6) departed early to leave India struggling at 22 for three.
“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 10-15 runs more. We thought 149 would be competitive, especially since they had to win. But they eventually did win,” Kohli said.
The Indian skipper also lamented boundary conceded by paceman Umesh Yadav after bolwing a tight 19th over.
“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,” he said.
