5 Reasons why India lost the 2nd Test Match against England

After a closely fought defeat in the opening game of the series, India were expected to come back stronger in the second Test against England at Lords. The visitors, however, were far from being up to the task as they were completely outplayed by England in all departments of the game.

The Indian batting line up has only looked a shadow of its own self for the second game in a row and the bowlers certainly haven’t lived up to their expectations coming into the Test match. It was once again a familiar story for the Indian Cricket Team in overseas conditions at Lords, as they folded like a pack of cards and were bundled out twice within 90 overs, giving England a 2-0 lead in the five-match Test series.

India will look to bounce back on a stronger note in the next three tests to be played in the series, failing which, a 5-0 whitewash is certainly not out of contention. Here is a look into 5 things that went wrong in the 2nd Test between India and England at Lords :

#5. Toss

The toss seemed to be the most vital factor ahead of play on Day 2 at the Lord’s Cricket Ground after Day 1 was washed out by incessant rain with not even a single delivery being bowled. Both the captains Virat Kohli and Joe Root had earlier expressed their desire to bowl first with the weather conditions not too apt for batting during the time of the toss.

The toss, however, did not go the way Virat Kohli and the Indian Cricket team would have hoped for. England captain Joe Root won the toss and unsurprisingly elected to bowl. The ball was expected to dart around for a session or two given the overcast conditions and a bit of moisture left over in the pitch with the covers on the pitch for quite some time.

The outcome of the game could have been entirely different had the toss gone in favour of the visiting team instead of the hosts