England vs India 2018: 4 Reasons why India lost the Test series vs England
Yet another overseas Test series, and yet another loss for team India. At the beginning of the series, the expectations from Kohli's men were sky high, especially after the impressive win against the Proteas at Johannesburg in the third Test earlier this year.
However, just like in the series against South Africa, team India failed to peak at the right time and ended up flattering to deceive, once again.
It was not as if the Indians were outplayed completely by England. Team India had its share of moments in the series where it displayed glimpses of its stature as the No.1 ranked team.
There were moments where India had England right on the mat and could have gone on to have the better of the English.
But familiar nemeses, especially the failure to play the incoming and outgoing deliveries, and the inability to counter Moeen Ali's spin, proved too costly as India crumbled under pressure at Southhampton to gift England an unassailable 3-1 lead.
In order to win a Test series, especially under unfamiliar conditions, a team has to seize the moments when it has the opposition under pressure. It was the failure to seize the momentum that cost India dearly. Either they allowed England to run amok with significant lower-order partnerships when the regular batsmen had been dismissed cheaply or lost wickets in groups after having had a steady partnership.
Here we have a look at 4 important reasons for team India's defeat.
#1 Failure of openers
The importance of a steady opening partnership cannot be overstated in a Test match, especially under seaming English conditions. It is mandatory for the openers to see off the new ball and counter the swinging deliveries from Anderson and Broad to provide a stable start.
But team India's openers failed miserably in the series. In India's sole victory at Trent Bridge, Indian openers put up a rare 50+ run opening stand in both the innings. Apart from that, Indian openers faltered in the remaining six innings.
Murali Vijay discovered that his ability to leave the balls outside the off had deserted him and was found wanting as he constantly played away from his body.
Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul too faced similar problems and Rahul was found vulnerable for LBWs even against the incoming deliveries.
The openers' failure meant that the middle order was exposed early to the new ball which affected the stability of the batting line-up.
More than scoring runs, it is important for the openers to see off the new ball and protect the middle order.
However, their failures that ensued due to technical deficiencies meant that much of the responsibility had to be carried by Kohli.
The Indian team management has its task cut out as the search for an opener who possesses the ability to survive against the new ball continues. It would not be a surprise if Rahul makes way for Prithvi Shaw in the final Test at the Oval.