Four lessons from the England series the Indian team must carry forward to replicate the 2011 World Cup success

India travelled to England with the intention of sorting out their problems. On the contrary, they ended the series with even more.

India was completely outplayed by the Englishmen in the last two ODI's. It was probably a perfect reality check at a perfect time for a team which hadn't lost a 50-over bilateral series under fully fledged captain Kohli.

What this series also does is stamps England's authority in limited overs cricket and presents them as the prime contender for the World Cup next year.

During England limited overs series (also in T20's), it was evident that the top order was doing the bulk of the scoring and Kuldeep Yadav was taking all the wickets and causing great trouble to the Englishmen.

If we talk about the batting, the middle order didn't even score at run a ball. They constantly struggled against the English spinners and never really got going. Regarding bowling, no one apart from Kuldeep even looked like picking up a wicket.

Even Chahal who was Yadav's partner in crime against the South Africans failed to make an impact or support his counterpart. The seamers were way before par. Overall apart from Kuldeep, Indian bowling looked fairly thin.

In the post-match presentation at Headingley even captain, Kohli admitted that his team has "quite a few" questions to address before the World Cup next year. With just around 25 matches left before the world cup, India certainly needs to address their issues sooner rather than later if they want to be in action at Lords on 14'th July next year.

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#1 Middle order muddle

Suresh Raina continued to struggle against the short ball, getting into awkward positions

India is too heavily dependent on their top three. If none of the top three makes runs, the team struggles to win matches.

No middle-order batsman has been able to complement the top order or play an impactful innings. If this trend continues, India will have hard times in the WC.

The team management needs to find a suitable No. 4 who can build the innings in case of early damage as well as finish the good work done by the top order. Probably Rahul is best suited at that No. 4, but he has to be given more opportunities.

#2 Ageing Dhoni

Dhoni struggled against the spinners during the ODI series

There has been no doubt about Dhoni's ability and his value to the team. But of late, there have been many questions about him taking too long to settle down and him finding it difficult against the spinners.

Maybe he should bat up the order at No. 4 or No. 5 because it will give him some time to get set before having a go. He can still finish off the innings in a handsome manner which was prevalent in the IPL two months back.

If he is able to provide the impetus at the end, it will add on India's chances as you cannot always trust inexperience and irresponsible Pandya who still needs to mature a lot.

#3 New Ball attack

Siddarth Kaul failed to capture his first ODI victim in the two matches he played

In the absence of India's star bowler Bumrah, it was a perfect opportunity for the bench strength to present their case. But it wasn't to be.

Not only were they unable to pick wickets, they went for plenty. Umesh Yadav and Siddarth Kaul who were simply magnificent in the IPL failed to get their lines right against the belligerent England openers.

Even Bhuveshwar Kumar who played in the last match was not at his best. India can't always rely on their spinners to do the damage in the middle overs after flourishing at the top. They need to make early inroads.

#4 Death bowling

Umesh Yadav's death bowling issues continue to hurt India.

Who can back world-class Bumrah at the death- the question still looms. Apart from Bhuvi, no bowler has proved his mettle under pressure.

Despite Kuldeep Yadav's wickets in the middle, bowlers failed to keep the run rate down at the death in the second ODI. A blistering half-century from Willey propelled England past 300 which turned out to be plenty for top-heavy Indian batting.

With Bhuvi also struggling at the death in the recent times, and Umesh aul and Thakur being way too inconsistent, the bowlers have their work cut-out.