England vs India 2018: 5 reasons why England lost the first T20I

KL Rahul's century and Kuldeep Yadav's career-best T20I figures helped India claim a convincing eight-wicket win over England in the first T20I at Manchester. Courtesy of that win, India take a 1-0 lead in the T20I series and make in three T20I wins in a row on their tour of United Kingdom so far.

After winning the toss, India elected to field first and at the start, it looked as though they might live to regret that decision as Jason Roy and Jos Buttler hammered the Indian bowlers in the first few overs. Roy fell inside the powerplay but Buttler carried on and scored his third consecutive fifty as an opener in T20Is.

But just when it looked as though England were going to post a massive total, Kuldeep Yadav came on and ran through the middle-order and ensured that the hosts set a below-par total. Kuldeep finished with figures of 5/24 as England could post only 159/8 in their 20 overs.

In response, India lost Shikhar Dhawan early but KL Rahul took it upon himself to ensure that India got over the line. He scored his second T20I hundred and with a little bit of help from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli towards the end helped India get over the line with eight wickets and 10 balls to spare.

Here are 5 reasons why England lost the first T20I:

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#1 Failure to capitalize on a blistering start

Roy and Buttler gave England the perfect start

When England decided to try out Jason Roy and Jos Buttler at the top of the innings, there was only one reason for that. Make the utmost of the field restrictions by having not one but two incredibly destructive batsmen who can clear the boundary at will.

In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, England knew that if they get at India early, they could expose the lack of two genuine death bowlers towards the end of the innings. And that is exactly what Roy and Buttler did at the start. After four overs, England were already closing in on bringing up their fifty. From there, considering their batting depth and the form that they were in, 200 would have been the minimum expectation.

Instead, it all went downhill from there. The last two overs of the powerplay yielded just nine runs and they also lost a wicket as well. From 44-0 after 4 overs, they finished with 159/8 from their 20 overs.

#2 Hales' slow crawl

Hales failed to score a single boundary and sucked the momentum from England's innings

As Roy was dismissed off the final ball of the fourth over, Alex Hales came in to bat at No.3 The first ball he faced was one that him where it really hurts. And for the remainder of the Hardik Pandya, he failed to score. From 50-1 after 5 overs, Hales' patient start that saw him play off four dot balls before he got a run meant that England finished the powerplay with just 53.

And it didn't get much better for Hales after that either. He struggled against the medium pace of Hardik Pandya, scoring just 5 runs off the 10 balls he faced from the Indian all-rounder. His inability to both rotate the strike or get going meant that the pressure on Buttler only intensified.

Before being dismissed for an 18-ball 8, which included no boundaries, Hales played out 11 dot balls. When he came into bat, England's run rate was 10 and by the time he was eventually put out of his misery by Kuldeep, the rate was just over eight. His slow crawl, inability to connect and hit boundaries or rotate strike, sucked the momentum out of the England innings.

#3 Losing three wickets in an over

Three wickets in four balls completely turned the game on its head

The old cricket adage of one wicket brings two might seem like a cliche but England found out why that has stuck around for all these years. After Alex Hales' dismissal, England were still decently placed at 95/2 from 11.3 overs.

But Kuldeep's third over (14th over of the innings) completely changed the complexion of the game. Not only did he get rid of Eoin Morgan off the first ball of his third over, he then followed that up by getting rid of one of England's in-form players (Jonny Bairstow) for a golden duck before dismissing Joe Root off the next ball.

While he missed out on a hat-trick, those three wickets in the space of four balls made England go from contemplating a total in excess of 200 to having doubts about whether they would be able to play out their overs.

Although they did manage to do that, they never quite recovered from that over.

#4 Buttler's decision to go after Kuldeep at the death

Buttler chanced his arm one time too many at the death and that cost England some valuable runs

In the age of analytics, it is all about keeping things simple. If you are the set batsman, it is your duty to ensure that you are there till the very end and give your side the best possible chance to win the match. And while Jos Buttler was undoubtedly brilliant with the bat once again, his decision making towards the end cost England some crucial runs towards the end of their innings.

When Kuldeep Yadav came in to bowl the 18th over, his figures were 3-0-13-4. He was undoubtedly on fire and the man facing him was Buttler, who was batting on 65 at the start of the over. After being dropped by KL Rahul off the second ball of the over, Buttler could have reconsidered his approach, seen off Kuldeep and hit the pacers, especially Bhuvneshwar, which he did wonderfully at the start of the innings.

But instead of seeing off Kuldeep, he went for another big shot but ended up giving a simple catch to Virat Kohli, who didn't make a mess of it. Buttler getting out in the 18th over and him staying till the final ball could have been the difference of a target of 160 and 180.

Without Buttler, in the last two overs, England scored just 11 runs and conceded all the momentum towards the end of their innings.

#5 Failure to pick up early wickets

Willey flattered to deceive after the first over, as did Plunkett and Jordan

In a summer in which England's batsmen have been breaking records for fun, it was only a matter of time before they slipped up in a game. And that is to be expected but what wasn't was England's complete lack of firepower with the ball during the powerplay.

Although David Willey got rid of Shikhar Dhawan in the first over, that was thanks to an inside edge more than a Jaffa from the left-arm seamer. When you are defending a below-par total, you need to step up with the ball and pick up early wickets. Letting the opposition score in excess of fifty in the powerplay won't cut it.

England failed to pick up early wickets and paid the price as they were comfortably beaten by India.