England beat India by three runs in the only Twenty20 international of the series at the Edgbaston here Sunday.
Chasing a target of 181, India made 177 for five in 20 overs after Virat Kohli top scored with 66 and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained unbeaten on 27 in 18 balls.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni Sunday defended his decision to refuse singles in the last over saying it was a chance that he took but didn’t pay off as the visitors went down by three runs to England in a thrilling finish in the one-off Twenty20 international here at Edgbaston.
“In the last over, I missed at least two I could have hit over the boundary, it was a difficult task and one of those days when it didn’t go our way. I thought I’m middling it I have a good chance but it didn’t pay off,” said Dhoni, who refused singles in two balls in the last over.
Dhoni said it was a good chase but felt his bowlers gave away too many runs in the last over. England scored 81 runs in the last five overs.
“Overall I thought the chase was good but we probably gave away too many runs in the latter overs but we bowled well in the middle. (Mohammed) Shami is someone who does bowl yorkers but isn’t consistent. But 180 was a score we should have got. There were quite a few excellent catches taken and that was the reason we kept them to 180. Overall it’s a good tour for us, we came back strongly in the ODIs,” he said.
England skipper Eoin Morgan, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his whirlwind 71, said there was little room for error.
“Throughout the whole game the guys held their nerve very well,” Morgan said.
“We got to a good score and then the bowler’s were exceptional. There’s little margin for error when Dhoni’s at the crease but they were great. The short ball suited conditions. We felt the full ball was easy hit. The wicket played pretty well, to get up to 180 was really good. I’ve gone through some tough times with the bat and come through them before but it was nice to get a get a few today,” he added.