WE NEED TO GET OUR ACT TOGETHER: KOHLI

Leeds, July 18: India will have to find the right balance in the ODI side and get their “act together” before the World Cup next year, said skipper Virat Kohli after his team’s 1-2 loss in the three-match series.

“These kind of games will tell us what we need to improve upon for the World Cup. We need to have a good balance in the side, and we need to get our act right before the World Cup. We can’t rely on one skill, and we need to do well in all departments,” said Kohli after the eightwicket defeat in the series decider on Tuesday.

India are considered to be a top-heavy batting side which is lacking solidity in the middle-order, something that was evident in third and final ODI after the fall of Rohit Sharma (2), Shikhar Dhawan (44) and Virat Kohli (71). India were 156 for four in the 31st over but could only manage 100 runs in the last 20 overs. “We were never up to the mark as far as runs were concerned. We had 2530 runs too little. England were clinical in all departments and thoroughly deserved to win. We need to be at our best against a team like England. “The pitch was slow throughout the day which was surprising, not damp, just slow. Against the new ball it was two-paced but slow with the spinners. Haven’t seen pitches like that here before. The bowlers did well, especially their spinners who didn’t get greedy and contained the runs before getting wickets eventually,” said Kohli.

He also defended the three changes he made for the crucial game, bringing in Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur in place of K L Rahul, Umesh Yadav and Siddarth Kaul. — PTI