3 Issues which cost India against England at Edgbaston

A defeat in the first test match of the series against England, at Edgbaston, dashed India's hopes of gaining a much-desired lead in the 5-match test series.

This is India's first test series against England, in England, since the less-than-stellar tour of 2014 where the Indian team lost the test series 3-1 after being 1-0 up in the series following the famous victory at Lord's.

India had hoped to commence this test series on a winning note; thus gaining some much-needed momentum that would've help them in the upcoming matches of the series--A win at Edgbaston would have truly boosted the morale of the team.

Nevertheless, that wasn't the case--India suffered a 31 run defeat at the hands of England and now are trailing by 1-0 in the series.

The Indian batting never quite going, and the star-studded lineup fell short of expectations at Edgbaston. It was what it was (sic)!

Regardless, in comparison to the batting realm, the Indian bowling turned out to be way better. In fact, the Indian bowlers did a great job by bowling out England twice, in as many innings.

As far as the Indian batting is considered, Virat Kohli was the one and only bright spot. He marched forward as though he were a one-man army, trying to bring the Indian innings back on track. However, a vital factor that was lacking, was the support that he had hoped for from the other batsmen.

Needless to say, ultimately, India lost the match by 31 runs.

In the following slides, we are going to reflect upon the 3 issues that cost India the game at Edgbaston.

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#1 Failure of the top order

The Indian top order failed to deliver at Edgbaston

It has always been said that when a team happens to be touring countries such as England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa; playing out the new ball at the start of the innings is the most important thing that a team needs to focus on.

This, in turn, increases the responsibility of the top order to see out the new ball, so that the batsmen coming to the crease after them find it easier to handle the red cherry.

However, in the first test against England, the Indian top order lacked the requisite application, and therefore, they were unable to handle the new ball--which resulted in them giving away their wickets rather hastily. This led to an immense build-up of pressure on the batting line-up as a whole; adding to the nerves of the rest of the batsmen who arrived at the crease.

The top order did not play well; and in order for the Indian team to show their dominance in the rest of the matches, it is indeed the responsibility of the top order to give the team a good start.

That in turn shall ensure that the rest of the team can capitalize on the top order giving India a decent start, at the very least.

#2 Poor Slip Catching:

Catches win matches

Another important skill that the Indian team needs to focus on when touring countries like England is the slip catching.

As the old saying goes--Catches win matches!

In countries such as England where the wickets are characterized by impressive pace and bounce, the ball can travel at a blazing fast pace to the slip fielders; owing to which the fielders need to be more attentive and focused than they'd be on a relatively slow, spinning track. A dropped catch can cost the team the entire match.

It's no secret that not a single team likes to lose a match, especially due to one particular mistake which snowballs and eventually turns out to be the blunder which cost them said match.

Generally, the current Indian team is quite good, as far as catching and fielding as a whole are concerned. However, that wasn't the case in the first test at Edgbaston.

Catches were dropped at the slip positions by the Indian fielders who'd usually be on point most of the time. Such critical errors are generally not expected from the number-one side in the world, however, as the belief goes--there are some days when everything appears to go wrong for the team.

Unfortunately, such was India's case in the first test against England.

#3 Over-reliance on Virat Kohli:

Virat Kohli stood tall for India at Edgbaston

Virat Kohli is the kind of player who relishes the opportunity of having to play in tough situations--what with him having the rare ability of being more than capable of delivering in those pressure situations.

Well, something similar happened in the first test against England at Edgbaston, with the entire Indian batting lineup struggling, and Kohli emerging from the ashes of said batting lineup.

It was Kohli who was the only bright spot as far as the Indian batting is concerned. "King Kohli" roared like a lion; scoring 149 and 51 in the first and second innings respectively.

In fact, he alone scored 200 runs for India in the match, while the rest of the team managed to score only 236 in the two outings. He stood like a rock at one end, watching the other batsmen crumble in front of him at the other end.

Dare I say, his performance at Edgbaston may have reminded a few fans of an old-school Rahul Dravid inning(s)--with Kohli fighting tooth and nail for India, akin to how "The Wall" used to in his prime.

Nevertheless, India's over-reliance on Kohli could prove to be a big problem later on in the series. The fact remains that the other batsmen need to step up to the plate, because there may be situations where Kohli might get out early.

Should the Indian team find themselves in a situation where Kohli loses his wicket relatively early, the responsibility of building the innings would then lie with the other bastmen. Therefore, in simple words, the Indian batting lineup ought to refrain from indulging in over-reliance on Kohli--with others such as Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane rising to the occasion against England.