England v India 2014: Four villains of the Pataudi Trophy

Abject. Dismal. Pathetic. Sordid. Words would never end to describe India's meek submission to the English bowlers, yet I'm bowled over and rendered speechless after the end of the fifth Test match of the Pataudi Trophy. What could have been a promising Test series for Indian cricket turned out to be a subject of new lows.Who is to blame? It is a team affair after all. Good batting must be supported by astute efforts in the field and disciplined bowling to deliver a win you must play like England, yetI have a few people to blame. They areGautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, 'The Virat' Kohli and CheteshwarPujara.Pessimism. Self-distrust. Mental disintegration. Cynicism. These are the words thatperfectly describe the mental state of these batsmen at the moment.

#1 Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir, who made his comeback into the side, was tentative, pokey and indecisive. The manner of his dismissals in the final Test showed pure absence of mind and pathetic reading of the game. His stay at the crease was no short of a horror movie for a batting connoisseur. He should be pardoned, though, as I believe he is still suffering from the concussion he sustained during his last visit here. This helps explain why he ran blindly attempting a single that was never there. Last of all, I never found the intention to score runs in Gambhir. He came out to survive, not score. Unfortunately, as we have witnessed throughout the history, such stints only lead to the pavilion. Gambhir is surely a talented fellow, but I fear that we might have just seen him the last time in Indian whites.