What went wrong? Is it lack of courage or too much dependence on Virat Kohli?
So India lost again at Ageas Bowl, Southampton to England by 60 runs. Moreover, also lost the series by 1–3 with one match to play. However, if we analyse the inside factors as to why India lost the series or previously lost in South Africa, we will find a pattern that will clear the air.
Let’s start with current England-India series. There were some genuine reasons why India struggled for the most part. The viewpoints are,
Over-dependence on Kohli: Virat Kohli, a gem of Indian Cricket, and indeed the best player in the world, went above and beyond the fans’ expectations. Cricket has fundamentally been a team sport. A captain alone can’t carry the entire team. It will be wrong of us to associate cricket with single-man championship victories and expect the same out of Virat Kohli. Apart from Kohli’s batting prowess, only the bowlers came a close second. Indeed, it was a case of poor performance on the part of the other batsmen.
Spin-Killers to Spin-Victims: The Indian cricket team have always maintained a consistent performance against the spinners. Even legends like Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Saqlain Mushtaq couldn’t best our batting line-up. Moreover, now the tables have turned. The recent struggles against Nathan Lyon and Moeen Ali point to the same.
No confidence and lack of courage: Test matches stress on the fundamentals of cricket, namely, technique, patience, courage and the ability to be the Wall. Across the whole batting line-up; from the openers to the lower middle orders, there has been a systematic failure. They weren’t able to replicate the success achieved in the sub-continent conditions. Thus, led to Virat Kohli’s one-man show.
Unable to choke-hold the opposition when needed: From a rare situation of 6/86, India failed to choke the England lower order to a small total. England got out of that situation with a decisive contribution from them. In comparison, India’s position in the first innings was phenomenal. From 2/142 the failures of the lower middle orders put India at a pitiful 8/195. The match subsequently turned to England’s favour.
The curious case of Ravichandran Ashwin: On the Ageas Bowl pitch, where the dryness kept the spinners in close competition; India’s spin maestro, Ravichandran Ashwin surprisingly failed to deliver. In comparison, England’s off-spinner all-rounder Moeen Ali created havoc in India’s dressing-room. By timely deliverance of simple off-spins in the rough patches, Moeen Ali was far more potent in turning the ball compared to his counterpart Ashwin, that resulted in him bagging nine wickets in the match. The sudden ineffectiveness of Ashwin proved costly as England quickly pounced on the opportunity.
Barring the Lord’s Test, India could have easily converted the 1st and 4th test matches into decisive victories if they only held onto their nerves. The inability to cross the line when it mattered the most cost India the series. The scoreline should have been 3–1, not 1–3.
