England vs India 2018: 5 Reasons why India lost the Test series

With the England vs India in the books, it is time for Team India to reflect on the series. The 4-1 loss must surely be stinging the team, considering how closely fought the series really was. The scoreline really does not do justice to the quality of cricket that the Indians played throughout the series.

But certain mistakes proved to be their downfall. It is hard to say what could have happened if the team had not made these mistakes. The scoreline might even have been 4-1 in the favour of Team India.

So, on that note, let's take a look at the 5 reasons because of which India lost the Test series to England.

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#5. Failure of the openers

Dhawan just failed to get going in English conditions

Both Dhawan and Rahul will be criticised after this series and rightfully so. Both the openers failed to put on meaningful runs until the very last innings of the series when Rahul played an epic knock of 149. Dhawan, on the other hand, carried on with his disastrous form and scored 1.

India came to England with 3 openers in the squad in the form of Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Murali Vijay. All three men had terrible starts to the series and Vijay was even sent home after three Tests. The 18-year-old Prithvi Shaw was called up to the squad in his place but was surprisingly not given a chance to play.

India decided to carry on with the Dhawan and Rahul pairing despite their struggles throughout the tour and it might have ended up costing them the series. Now, opening will be a huge concern for the Indian team management considering the World Cup will be played in England next year and till now nobody has shown themselves to be capable of playing on English soil.

#4. Only the middle-order scored runs

Kohli, Pujara, and Rahane delivered. The others did not.

The majority of India's runs in the series were scored by the middle order batsmen. In truth, only three batsmen managed to make any meaningful contribution to the team - Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. And only two of them managed to score a century on the tour.

And while Rahul might have scored a beautiful 149 in the final innings of the fifth Test, it was a little too late to save the series or even the match. In contrast, runs came for England from all positions and this helped them whenever their top order or middle order faltered.

India, on the other hand, looked like a three-man batting unit for the majority of the series. Kohli was at his best throughout the series while Rahane and Pujara also made meaningful contributions whenever the occasion called for it. But other than them, it was hard to find anyone who could be relied upon to bring the team out of a sticky situation.

#3. Losing both the close Tests

Cook retired at the end of the series.

Test matches are often decided in the span of a session or two. India continuously lost out in the close sessions. Even when they found themselves on top of the hosts, they would somehow let off the pressure and allow them to come back in the game.

There were two Tests in this series that could have easily gone either way - the first Test at Edgbaston and the fourth Test at The Ageas Bowl. Both times India looked set to win and ended up on the losing end.

At Edgbaston, it looked like just a formality. Chasing 194 to win, India had 5 wickets in hand with just 82 runs left to make. Virat Kohli was at the crease with Hardik Pandya still to come. Indian fans could not have been blamed for thinking that the result was a foregone conclusion. But they could not have predicted the Indian collapse that was to come leading to England winning the Test.

The fourth Test at The Ageas Bowl was a little trickier. India were chasing a respectable 245 on a pitch that was clearly helping the bowlers. But after a 101-run partnership between Kohli and Rahane, it looked like India would be levelling the series.

The fact that the pitch was acting like a subcontinental wicket should have helped the Indian side. Except that it did not and India lost their last 7 wickets for 61 runs, handing the hosts a 60-run victory.

Both matches could have been easily won by India if they had just delivered when it mattered the most. Unfortunately, they did not and England ended up winning the series 4-1. The result could have been so different, but Indian nerves failed at the wrong time.

#2. Virat Kohli's captaincy

Batsman Kohli was a blockbuster. Captain Kohli was just average.

After a nightmare series England tour in 2014, Kohli answered his critics with the bat this time around, scoring 593 runs in just 5 Tests with 2 centuries and 3 half-centuries. But for all his brilliance with the bat in hand, his captaincy left a lot to be desired.

On multiple occasions, the Indian bowlers managed to get the English top order out cheaply, but then instead of going on the attack, Kohli would open up the field and let England come back into the game. It times it felt like he was more concerned with giving away runs than getting them out.

Question marks will also be raised around the team's unwillingness to bring in changes despite multiple players having a torrid time in English conditions. The greatest example of this would be the opening pair of Dhawan and Rahul.

The team decided to stick with the faltering pair despite having a young Prithvi Shaw waiting in the dressing room. Also, Jadeja showed that he could have played a huge role by picking up 7 wickets and scoring 99 runs in the final Test.

Kohli is undoubtedly the best batsman of his generation. But as a captain, he still has a long way to go.

#1. England's lower-order

Sam Curran was spectacular.

Let's give credit where credit is due, the English tail-end took this Test series away from India with their batting. On multiple occasions, India managed to get England's recognized batsmen out for cheap but would then struggle to finish it off by getting the English tail out.

Sam Curran was the find of the series, scoring 272 runs in just 4 Tests while coming in at number 8. He also picked up 11 wickets, but it will be the runs at the bottom of the order that will be remembered.

The Indian bowlers had an awful time trying to get him out. Whenever the English team found themselves in a sticky situation, he managed to rescue them with his gutsy performances. But it was not just Curran alone, as all of the lower order batsmen did their best to give him the support he needed.

In contrast, the Indian tail-enders found it difficult to contribute anything with the bat. The fourth Test is a prime example of this. In both innings' England found themselves in trouble, in their first innings they were 86/6 and 122/5 in the second innings. But both times their lower order managed to rescue the team as they finished with 246 and 271, respectively.

In contrast, India collapsed from comfortable situations both times they were out to bat. In their first innings, they were 181/4 but could only manage 273. And then they went from 123/3 to all out for just 184 in the last innings.

Clearly, the English lower-order made all the difference in the series.