Eoin Morgan says England may need to ‘improve their business’ against spin after India defeat
Written by News on 04/07/2018
Eoin Morgan admitted England “may need to be better about the way we go about our business” against spin after they were “deceived” by Kuldeep Yadav in their eight-wicket defeat to India in the first T20I.
Kuldeep bagged 5-24 at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, including three wickets in his third over when he had Morgan (7) caught in the deep and Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root stumped by MS Dhoni for golden ducks, as England subsided from 95-1 just after the halfway mark to post 159-8.
KL Rahul (101no from 54 balls) steered India to their target in 18.2 overs and a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, but Morgan pinpointed England’s batting post-match, albeit without criticising their attacking intent.
“Kuldeep is a very big threat – we knew that. We maybe need to be a bit better with the way we go about our business,” said Morgan, whose side will look to rebound in Cardiff on Friday, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 5pm.
“It wasn’t a case of us chipping it up in the air. He completely deceived us, and I thought he bowled well. We know we can [do better], so we need to.
“The more time you spend at the crease, the better you see the ball. You go from sitting in the dugout to match pace and when a guy is three overs into his spell, it is going to be different.
“Everything seemed to happen pretty quickly so that’s something we will assess between now and the next game. Make sure our plans are the right ones and stick with them.
“But when the wicket is that good, I think you have to take positive options and when the boundary is short and the wind is blowing into it, it gives you that incentive to play those shots. We just have to be better at doing that.
“India thoroughly deserved it – they played well. The best part of our game was the start – Jos Buttler and Jason Roy played well and conditions were pretty good, but they fought back really well.
“Three wickets in an over knocked us back quite a bit – we never really regained momentum. That probably cost us 30 or 40 runs and, inevitably, when someone like Rahul gets in, it is going to be difficult to defend.”
India skipper Virat Kohli, who struck the match-winning six off David Willey in the penultimate over, said of Rahul: “KL is someone who has come a long way – he batted so clean, so crisp in the IPL and he has carried it forward.
“We want guys like him to step up and make the batting stronger so we have flexibility to move the other guys around the order.
“We don’t want to be one-dimensional, so KL allows the other guys to bat the way they want to around him. He has good temperament, great technique and is very hungry. It’s a great sign for Indian cricket.”
On Kuldeep, Kohli added: “He is going to be effective on any kind of pitch and with a bit of assistance he becomes even more lethal.
“He can turn it away from you or right into you and I think it’s very difficult to pick. I hope he can keep batsmen guessing.”
Watch England take on India in three T20s, three ODIs and five Tests – with every ball live on Sky Sports Cricket.
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(c) Sky News 2018: Eoin Morgan says England may need to ‘improve their business’ against spin after India defeat
