3 factors that stood between India and a series win in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy ft. Gautam Gambhir's tactics

India gave a good account of themselves in the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which finished all square at 2-2. The visitors clinched a draw and a win in the final two Tests to level the series scoreline under challenging circumstances.

However, it's arguable that India could've gone even further against an England side that weren't at their best. Shubman Gill and Co. batted well throughout the series, with a number of players striking form at the right time. While they didn't have enough bowling firepower, the likes of Mohammed Siraj chipped in with lion-hearted efforts.

Despite those brilliant individual performances, India nearly squandered the series and left it until the last minute to get the job done. On that note, here are three factors that stood between them and a series win in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

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#3 Gautam Gambhir's batting-depth approach always left India without enough bowling

England & India Net Sessions - Source: Getty

In the first four Tests, India fielded Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur as the fourth pacer. Kuldeep Yadav was ignored throughout the rubber, with the three main fast bowlers having a lot of workload.

Gill was understandably reluctant to use Thakur's bowling, while Reddy was ruled out with a knee injury following the third Test. In Kuldeep's absence, Jadeja and Washington Sundar did their best, but it was certain that the visitors didn't give themselves enough quality bowling options to take 20 wickets on a regular basis.

Thakur and Reddy didn't make many lower-order runs either, although they chipped in with the occasional cameo. Gautam Gambhir is known to be someone who values batting depth across formats, and Gill's usage of his bowlers seemed to suggest that the coach was the one who made the decision to field the extra all-rounder.

That certainly didn't help India, who seemed to have constructed a team to avoid defeat rather than push for wins.

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#2 The visitors' best players weren't consistently fit

England v India - 4th Rothesay Test Match: Day Two - Source: Getty

Jasprit Bumrah could play only three of the five Tests. In the third of those encounters, the ace spearhead struggled with an ankle injury suffered while climbing up the stairs. There were talks of him taking to the field in the final match, but a reported knee issue prevented it.

Meanwhile, India's best Test batter over the last few years, Rishabh Pant, broke his foot while attempting a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes. Although he missed only one Test, Pant's absence behind the stumps and his untimely exit from the crease in the Manchester Test left his team without their best batting lineup.

Others like Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh and Reddy weren't at full fitness at various junctures, while Anshul Kamboj was perhaps dealing with a niggle during an unimpressive debut. These injuries didn't help India, who were always fighting to field their best playing XI.

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#1 Shubman Gill lost 5 tosses in a row

England v India - 5th Rothesay Test Match: Day Five - Source: Getty

The toss hasn't been in India's favor lately. Shubman Gill lost all five tosses in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, and that definitely didn't help matters.

England, a team known to enjoy chasing, were able to select their preferred option more often than not. And when the conditions seemed like they would worsen over the course of the game, as was the case at Lord's, Ben Stokes was able to help his team take first strike.

The conditions were often against India because of the coin, and they did well to fight through those odds over the five Tests.