Team India’s unbeaten streak of 9 ODI series win came to an end in England on Tuesday. Eoin Morgan and his men outclassed the men-in-blue by 8 wickets to clinch the series, ultimately retaining their top spot at the ICC ODI rankings.
After losing the first-ever ODI series in his leadership, Indian skipper Virat Kohli stated that ‘England deserved to win’. He said,
“I thought we were never on the mark as far as runs were concerned, we were 25 runs less, England were clinical with the bat, ball and in the field, and deserved to win. Against a side like England, you had to be at your best.”
Several changes were made for the final ODI. While India’s most lethal bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was back in the squad, but KL Rahul was benched, and Dinesh Karthik was picked. Speaking about these changes, Kohli said.
“Not the batting order, we thought Dinesh was going well, with the bowling we felt Bhuvi has the experience and was good to come back in, but it didn't come off. When it doesn't come off, changes look unnecessary. We need to move on and improve as a side. Every side is looking for the best balance possible, these losses will tell us what we need to work on. We've got 15-16 games to get the balance of the side strong.”
When asked about Adil Rashid's delivery which bowled him, Kohli said,"It was a quality ball, I've been playing him since U-19, he's a quality bowler, just one of those deliveries to take in your stride and say 'Wow, I was done by that'."
After the ODI rubber, the Indian cricket team will play England in a 5-match Test series starting from August 1.