India vs England: Where India fell short

If not now, then when? As Team India left its shores for the most anticipated tour to — United Kingdom — they carried hopes and dreams of billions to conquer the land of English, in white flannels, in a gruelling five-match Test series in much hostile conditions.

They had a batting line-up that the world envied, a bowling far too good than the previous ones, an unsettled opposition and on top of them all — Virat Kohli, the leader and man in form.

If not now, then when — people wondered when asked of India's chance of winning a series in England after 2007 followed by back to back failures of 2011 and 2014.

This was the best time. But... India floundered again. While Kohli flourished in style, erasing his failures of the 2014 tour. The rest, barring a fine show by the pacers, failed to make the most of the golden opportunity.

The 60-run defeat in the fourth Test in Southampton closed all opportunities of a comeback in the series. The fifth and final Test at the Oval, London, will be a dead rubber — the one to salvage pride for the Indians.

DNA lists down the reasons behind India's series loss against England:

1. Not an open and shut case

Captain Virat Kohli had a pleasant headache before he sat down to jot down the playing XI with the team management ahead of the first Test. That of whom to drop among three openers — Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay and KL Rahul. In the end, Cheteshwar Pujara had to bear the brunt. And guess what, none of them delivered up to Kohli's expectations in the overcast conditons of Birmingham. The story of openers struggling continued till the fourth Test. The openers had three 50+ partnerships in eight innings, but none of them managed to score a half century with Dhawan's 44 (in the third Test) being the highest individual score among them. Dhawan's struggle against swing, Rahul's shot selections and Vijay's sudden bad patch was one of the key reasons for India's failures with the bat.

2. Living under Kohli's shadow

Hasn't this been a trend over the last couple of years? Captain Kohli's form and heavy runs from his bat seems to have spoiled the batsmen around him. Is it the larger than life image of Kohli that makes the others around him feel less confident or is there any kind of pressure to show some kind of intent — the word that the Indian players love these days? Cheteshwar Pujara lost his place before he made a comeback after the openers failed. He made a fifty (3rd) and a century (4th Test). Ajinkya Rahane hardly looked dominating. His match-winning 81 and then the 51 on Sunday showed he could have been more effective. Dinesh Karthik threw away both his chances, while the new entrant Rishabh Pant showed he has a long way to go. Asking Ashwin to deliver with the bat would be unfair while Hardik Pandya, the all-rounder is still in the making.

3. Hardik Pandya, an all rounder. Really?

India's search to find the next Kapil Dev has been no less than a treasure hunt. Having tried to convert Irfan Pathan into an all-rounder before he faded away, Stuart Binny too had a brief stint. So, when, the Indians got a talented batsman an d a pace bowler in Hardik Pandya, who could bowl 140 plus at will, the search finally seemed to have ended. But 11 Tests and 18 innings later, Pandya seems to have not lived up to billing, yet. The Baroda player's performance was shambolic in the series. To rule him out completely will be foolish as he delivered an all-round performance — a 5-wicket haul and 52* in the third Test which India won. He has not even performed in patches, forget consistency. As batsman he has struggled to put ball to the bat in unfriendly conditions. As a bowler he has been wayward. Make no mistake, he is diamond who needs to be polished and grind in domestic cricket.

4. Ali overshadows world-class Ashwin?

Going by the numbers and the highest wicket-takers list of the series, English off-spinner Moeen Ali is just two wickets behind India's premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Ali has nine wickets while Ashwin 11. But guess what? Ali needed just one match to get a nine-wicket match haul while the Tamil Nadu bowler took four matches and seven innings to get those numbers. A lot was expected from Ashwin going into the series as the wickets were supposed to aid spinners due to hot wave that the English faced this summer. The sudden overcast conditions, however, saw the seamers come into play. The Indian offie started well by getting the south-paws and English openers – Keaton Jennings and Alastair Cook in the first match. Post that game, Ashwin has hardly been effective in terms of wickets.

5. Lack of preparations

India has been at the forefront of getting the practice games cancelled or shortened in the last few tours. In South Africa, Kohli & Co were to play a two-day practice game, but they chose to cancel it. This led to India's downfall in Africa. In England, after the T20s and ODIs series against Ireland and the Englishmen, the Indians were planned to play a 4-day practice tie that they reduced it to three. Usually, teams that travel to England plays a couple of serious first-class games to get used to the conditions, but the Indians seem to be happy practicing among themselves.