England beaten by battle-hardened opponents who know how to win key moments: Michael Vaughan
Former England captain Michael Vaughan wasn't impressed with the Three Lions' performance against India on the last day of the fourth Test. England conceded a 2-1 series lead with one to play by producing another underwhelming batting display.
Although England started their pursuit of 368 confidently on Day 4, it didn't end as they would have liked. Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns built a 100-run stand before the latter was the first to perish on the fifth day. Eventually, the home side collapsed to 210, lasting 92.2 overs.
Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Michael Vaughan felt India thrived better than England in critical moments and were ruthless.
"They were beaten by battle-hardened opponents who know how to win the key moments, whereas once again it was clear that England need conditions to give them a helping hand,"
Michael Vaughan further stated England's bowling unit had been exposed as the pitch offered nothing in the second innings. Vaughan believes the flat conditions render England's bowlers toothless as they struggle to pick up 20 scalps.
"In the second innings with the ball, England’s attack was found out because there was no swing or seam. England lack pace and variation to make things happen in flat conditions. This England Test team are dependent on the pitch helping them. When that happens they look like taking 20 wickets like they did at Headingley, otherwise they struggle,"
Unlike at Headingley, the home side could not produce those magical spells at the Oval. After failing to gain a substantial first-innings lead, England dropped crucial catches, proving further detrimental to their chances. The tourists made 466 before losing all their wickets.
They do not make enough runs when it is flat: Michael Vaughan
The Ashes-winning skipper continued to say that England had already made matters worse by not making enough runs in the first innings. Vaughan slammed batsmen like Hameed and Moeen Ali - both of whom threw their wickets away.
"Then they were massively under par in their own first innings scoring 290. They do not make enough runs when it is flat. England played some poor strokes through lapses in concentration. Haseeb Hameed chased a wide ball, for example, and Moeen Ali top-edged one in the air when England were strolling the game. Those were poor cricket shots,"
India's lower order made England toil for wickets on Day 4, adding well over 100 runs. The top-order wiped the first-innings deficit of 99 with little difficulty and marched to set a mammoth target. Rohit Sharma earned the man of the match award for his 127 in the second innings.