3 Issues which cost India against England at Edgbaston
A defeat in the first test match of the series against England, at Edgbaston, dashed India's hopes of gaining a much-desired lead in the 5-match test series.
This is India's first test series against England, in England, since the less-than-stellar tour of 2014 where the Indian team lost the test series 3-1 after being 1-0 up in the series following the famous victory at Lord's.
India had hoped to commence this test series on a winning note; thus gaining some much-needed momentum that would've help them in the upcoming matches of the series--A win at Edgbaston would have truly boosted the morale of the team.
Nevertheless, that wasn't the case--India suffered a 31 run defeat at the hands of England and now are trailing by 1-0 in the series.
The Indian batting never quite going, and the star-studded lineup fell short of expectations at Edgbaston. It was what it was (sic)!
Regardless, in comparison to the batting realm, the Indian bowling turned out to be way better. In fact, the Indian bowlers did a great job by bowling out England twice, in as many innings.
As far as the Indian batting is considered, Virat Kohli was the one and only bright spot. He marched forward as though he were a one-man army, trying to bring the Indian innings back on track. However, a vital factor that was lacking, was the support that he had hoped for from the other batsmen.
Needless to say, ultimately, India lost the match by 31 runs.
In the following slides, we are going to reflect upon the 3 issues that cost India the game at Edgbaston.
#1 Failure of the top order
It has always been said that when a team happens to be touring countries such as England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa; playing out the new ball at the start of the innings is the most important thing that a team needs to focus on.
This, in turn, increases the responsibility of the top order to see out the new ball, so that the batsmen coming to the crease after them find it easier to handle the red cherry.
However, in the first test against England, the Indian top order lacked the requisite application, and therefore, they were unable to handle the new ball--which resulted in them giving away their wickets rather hastily. This led to an immense build-up of pressure on the batting line-up as a whole; adding to the nerves of the rest of the batsmen who arrived at the crease.
The top order did not play well; and in order for the Indian team to show their dominance in the rest of the matches, it is indeed the responsibility of the top order to give the team a good start.
That in turn shall ensure that the rest of the team can capitalize on the top order giving India a decent start, at the very least.