We Were Pushed Back In First Six Overs - Virat Kohli

It was a great game of cricket where both teams had their chances till last over. But it was England who held their nerve well and came as victories. They had beaten India by 5-wickets in a nail-biter encounter on Friday, July 6 at Cardiff and level the series with one more match to play.

It was a low scoring thriller in which India could score only 148 after they were pushed to bat first. At halfway stage, it looked like England will take it easily but Indian bowlers pulled things back and made difficult for them to chase. But Alex Hales kept his nerve and took his team through the line with unbeaten 58 off 41 balls. He was adjudged Man Of The Match.



Virat Kohli who was the top scorer for India with 47 off 38 balls didn't look pleased with their efforts with batting. He feels that 15 more runs could have been ideal to defend on that surface which was on a bit slower side.

"When you lose 3 wickets in the first 6 overs for 30 runs it's difficult to come back. I thought a partnership would get us to 145, and that would have been competitive. Average scores in local tournaments were around 145. England made good use of the wicket which had some extra bounce and some assistance for the seamers. They put pressure on us and made us lose wickets, and the run-out didn't help either. We were probably about 15 runs short."

"We were pushed back initially in the first six overs. Our power play was not good enough, and the score, in the end, reflects that and we just couldn't push as much as we wanted in the end. You do take everything into account, like the pitch, etc. We did well and we knew it would be difficult for England to chase down 149 and level the series, and I think they had the partnership we didn't to close it off in the end."



"We knew it would be something they would have to work hard to win. They played Kuldeep really well. Chahal was outstanding and they switched roles in both games. They did their homework on Kuldeep and they reaped the rewards. It's a cruel format for the bowlers, Umesh was fantastic as well, and so was Bhuvi, but unfortunately he couldn't finish it off.

"That boundary in the end (19th over) from Hales pulled it back for them and these small things count in T20s which makes it such an interesting watch. We gotta brush it aside, take it in our stride and move onto the next game. I think we competed quite well but England was the better side, that's why they came through today," Kohli said.

On the other hand, England who was looking clueless against Kuldeep Yadav in the first T20I did their homework against wrist spinner by practising with 'Merlyn' machine. It looked like their homework against Kuldeep paid them off as the wrist spinner remained wicketless in this match. He conceded 34 runs in 4 overs including a 16-run over of 17th where equation came down to 23 off 18 balls.



Both teams have won one match and therefore the third and last T20I become decider which will be played on Sunday, July 8 at Bristol.

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