Headingley: England put in a clinical performance as they outplayed India to register a comprehensive eight-wicket victory in third One-day International at Headingley and also sealed the series 2-1. India were outplayed in all three departments, and with less than a year to go for the World Cup, captain Virat Kohli said that the team needs to get the balance before the big tournament.

“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,” Kohli said later.

Talking about the match, Kohli said England deserved to win and India were simply not good enough,

“We were never up to the mark as far as runs were concerned. We had 25-30 runs too little. England were clinical in all departments and throughly 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,” he added.

Adil Rashid bamboozled Kohli, pegging back his off-stump and the Indian skipper praised the leg-spinner for his performance.

“I’ve been playing against Rashid since U-19 and it was a terrific ball, so it’s just one of those balls that you have to take in your stride and say “Wow”. I’m surprised that his turn has reduced over the years, but this one was an amazing ball,” he said.

India decided to ring in the changes for the decider, a decision which backfired eventually, but Kohli defended the move, saying it looked bad because of the result.

“We thought Dinesh did well, but he couldn’t convert his start, so I don’t regret the batting order changes. Shardul was meant to get some exposure, and Bhuvi needed to make a comeback. When the changes don’t come off, they look unnecessary so it must be taken in our stride,” he said.