England vs India 2018: 4 reasons why India lost the series
Not often do we see the Indian pace contingent grab headlines ahead of a Test series but this was one such instance. India arguably boasted a better pace battery than England and that was expected to aid the visitors in giving the English a tough run for their money. The batting unit was more or less the same which toured England in 2014, and theoretically speaking, they shouldn’t repeat the same mistakes again. By all accounts, this Indian team looked propitious to creating history on English soil. But as fate had it, it wasn't to be. India tenaciously held on to their habit of losing the key moments and will return with an unconvincing scoreline of 4-1 in England's favor.
This unflattering drubbing can be ascribed majorly to four reasons.
#4 Team Selection
The sidelining of Pujara in the first Test gave us a glimpse of what was to be expected selection-wise, in the series. Pujara’s unalarming attitude to the out-swingers and his improved technique against the inswingers meant he didn’t have an outright weakness in England. If only he had played that eventful first Test!
Kuldeep’s Yadav’s inclusion in the Lord’s Test was perhaps Kohli’s way of overcompensating the Pujara blunder. Such was the ineffectiveness that the chinaman was axed for the last two Tests.
Ashwin’s name in the fourth Test’s squad sheet was probably the deciding point of the series from a selection perspective. The Chennai lad couldn’t get his rhythm, struggled to land the ball in the rough and in all likelihood looked like he was struggling to even bowl. Ashwin couldn’t conjure the magic England’s secondary spinner Moeen could and it injured the team’s chances astronomically.