England vs India 2018: Best and Worst of India tour of England
India’s long tour of England ended three days ago as India lost the fifth Test by a margin of 118 runs. The Men in Blue gave a close fight to the British side as they were in a winnable situation in three out of the four Tests (Lord’s is the exception) which they lost.
Virat Kohli and his men returned to India with just one series win, the T20I series. They lost the ODI series 1-2 after winning the first one-day international. This team had the caliber to beat the mighty English team in their home conditions but the failure of some key players cost them this golden opportunity.
In this article, I will analyze the best and worst parts of the tour.
#1 Best: The rise & rise of Virat Kohli
After a commendable performance with the bat in the previous overseas tours, Virat Kohli was back in England where he had a horrendous average of 13.4 in 10 innings when Team India visited the UK 4 years ago.
This year, the story has been different. After a below par performance against minnows Ireland, Virat started off with a slow 20* (22) in the first t20i against England but chipped in with quick-fire 40+ scores in the 2nd and 3rd games.
He carried on his good form in the one-day series, finishing with an average of 63.66 after 3 matches. In his sternest test in English conditions, the Indian skipper amassed a mind-boggling 149 at Birmingham, overtaking his tally of 134 runs in the entire Test series of 2014.
Virat seemed unstoppable against the likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes as he emerged as the highest run-scorer from both the sides, with 593 runs at a staggering average of 59.30. He lacked support from the other end which contributed towards India's repeated failures.