Virat Kohli : England played better cricket than us

“England played better cricket than us today (Thursday). We accept that. With the ball, in the field and with the bat, they were precise. They were the deserving winners at the end of the day,” Kohli said after the match, The Hindu reported.

After comprehensive wins in both the Test and ODI series, India were expected to inflict the same kind of punishment on the English in the T20 series as well. But in a fairly one-sided game, England never let the hosts settle as they piled on the pressure in the first innings restricting India's highest scorer MS Dhoni to just 36 runs. India finally set the visitors a target of just 148 runs.

"There are things we need to address and learn from this game. This is a format you need to enjoy and have to play at your intense best. I think we have played some really good cricket this season and deserve to enjoy these T20s," Kohli added.

"You have to stand up and applaud the opposition when they play well. Today, England performed the way we know they can. Credit to their bowlers for bowling hard lengths, they extracted pace and bounce. As I said, they were precise." 

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The Indian skipper, however, praised leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal who was the pick of the Indian bowlers picking up two wickets. 

"I have confidence in him. He plays with me in Royal Challengers Bangalore and bowls with the new ball there as well, with mid-on and mid-off up," Kohli said when asked about the 26-year-old.

"He has the wicket-taking ability and is confident of his skills. A youngster showing character is always a positive sign."

England captain Eoin Morgan paid tribute to his bowlers for setting up the victory and giving England a series lead for the first time on the tour. He reserved special praise for all rounder Moeen Ali who finished with figures of 2/21 in his four overs claiming the wicket of the dangerous Virat Kohli.

"I thought our bowlers were outstanding tonight. Everybody executed the plans. (Moeen) Ali, in particular, showed great resolve on a wicket which wasn’t turning much," Morgan said.

“Whenever you’re chasing a low total, getting off to a flier is a huge positive. It releases the pressure on the guys coming in. It allows them to take more time and control the chase a bit more. Sam (Billings) hasn’t played a great deal on this tour but has taken the two chances he’s had.”