3 primary reasons why India lost the series to England

Moeen Ali outdid Ashwin with the ball on the dry pitch

Moeen Ali was the star for England

The series was sealed with England's win in the 4th Test, but, the match was very close for much of the contest, which both teams having their noses in front at various points during the Test.

The pivotal difference was made by Moeen Ali who bagged 9 wickets in the Test, whereas Ashwin went missing with the ball, esp. in the 3rd innings, when the pitch had dried out and there was plenty of turn on offer.

Ashwin failed to settle on the correct speed to bowl and also failed to consistently hit the rough outside the right handers' off-stump. Moeen Ali on the other hand, bowled slower, tossed the ball, hit the rough and got the ball to bounce and spin sharply.

It is very likely that Ashwin was not fully fit, but if that was the case, then why was he played to begin with. Wouldn't it have been better to play Jadeja, who is also a proven spinner on pitches that offer assistance to his art. This again hints at some dodgy strategical decision making in the dressing room.

However the blame in this regard must also be shared by Indian batsmen who failed to play Moeen Ali properly, which is not a first, by any means. On previous occasions also Indian batsmen have been found wanting against spinners and it is now said that this generation of Indian batsmen doesn't play spin anyway near as well as the previous generations did.

The BCCI must look into why that is. Does it have something to do with the fact that Indian batsmen, once they break into the Indian team, stop playing Ranji trophy games, and thus no longer get to face spin as much.

Whatever be the case, the bottom line is that Moeen Ali titled the balance of the Test and thus the series England's way, while Ashwin failed to deliver.