India vs England 2018 - 5 reasons why India lost their 2nd T20I

India’s run of seven successive T20I wins came to an end on Friday as England beat India by five wickets at Cardiff.

England won the toss and elected to field first, on a pitch that was a lot different from the usual batting friendly surfaces in England. The wicket had some extra bounce and scoring was not at all easy.

India recovered well after losing three important wickets in the power play overs. Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, and MS Dhoni played useful knocks and helped India set a fighting target of 149.

Though England lost wickets regularly, Alex Hales played a steady knock to help England chase the target with two balls to spare. It was not an easy chase by any means. Indian bowlers did well to make them earn the win.

On that note, let's take a look at the reasons why India lost their second T20I against England.

#5 Bounce on the wicket disrupted India’s run flow

David Willey was brilliant in the second T20I

Bouncy tracks have caused problems for Indian batsmen in the past and it was no different in the second T20I. Cardiff wicket assisted the seam bowlers and offered some extra pace. England replaced Moeen Ali with Jake Ball and played with four frontline medium pacers.

English bowlers hit the deck hard and generated good bounce. Rohit Sharma got out playing a pull shot in the second over of the innings. Throughout the game, English seamers tested Indian batsmen with short stuff.

They used the short ball cleverly and disrupted India’s momentum. David Willey, in particular, was exceptional with his variations. They never allowed Indian batsmen to get on top of them and bowled in the right areas for the most part of their bowling.

#4 Indians were over-cautious in the power play overs

Rohit Sharma needs to change his T20 batting tactics

There is no denying the fact that Rohit Sharma is one of the best limited-overs batsmen in the world. He has a template to bat in shorter formats of the game and he does it brilliantly in ODIs.

However, he has struggled when it comes to T20 cricket. His lack of intentions in the power play overs has hurt India badly. Rohit Sharma was too slow to start and played seven dot balls in his innings of 5 runs off 9 balls.

Shikhar Dhawan too did not show any rush and took his time. India scored only 31 runs in the power play and lost three crucial wickets. India needs at least one of their opening batsman to show some urgency in the power play overs.

#3 India missed Bumrah’s death over expertise

Bumrah wasn't there when India needed him the most

He is arguably the best limited-overs bowler in the world right now. Jasprit Bumrah has been superb for India in the last 12 months, playing a stellar role in their ODI and T20 success. Unfortunately, he was ruled out of the series because of an injury.

With five wickets in hand, England needed 20 runs to win in the final two overs. Umesh Yadav did well to bowl some good yorkers, though in the penultimate over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was way off the radar. He bowled length, which made it really easy for Alex Hales to hit the winning runs.

Bumrah is India’s death over expert in limited-overs cricket for quite some time and his absence proved costly on Friday. He has won us games from similar situations in the past, but without him, India failed to defend a decent score in the second T20I.

#2 English batsmen learned their lessons quickly; Kuldeep bowled too full

English batsmen played him a lot better in 2nd T20I

Kuldeep Yadav was the star of the show for India in the first T20I when he picked up five wickets. He completely outfoxed English batsmen and was superb in his four overs spell. Kuldeep arrested run flow in the middle overs that resulted in quick wickets.

However, he was easily dealt with in the second T20I. England batsmen played him a lot better than they did at Old Trafford. They played him on the back foot and did not take any unnecessary risks.

It allowed them to score runs at a decent pace in the middle overs, without losing regular wickets. He also bowed too full in his last over, and Bairstow struck him for consecutive sixes. Kuldeep finished with figures of 4-0-34-0. He was struck for three huge sixes in his four overs spell, all of them came off full deliveries.

#1 India posted a below-par score against a strong English batting lineup

India needs to revisit their batting approach in power play overs

Though the track offered something extra for the seam bowlers, India fell short by around 15 runs in their innings. A slow start and early wickets did not help their cause. They scored at less than six runs an over in the power play and there were only two boundaries between overs four and ten.

Though Kohli and Raina rescued them well in the middle overs, they struggled to accelerate and lost regular wickets. None of the settled batsmen were able to get on to the top gear and the momentum wasn’t there. Though Dhoni took India to a respectable score of 148, it was never enough against a daunting English batting lineup.

Will we see a rejuvenated batting approach for the series finale?