5 Reasons why India lost the 2nd Test Match against England

After a closely fought defeat in the opening game of the series, India were expected to come back stronger in the second Test against England at Lords. The visitors, however, were far from being up to the task as they were completely outplayed by England in all departments of the game.

The Indian batting line up has only looked a shadow of its own self for the second game in a row and the bowlers certainly haven’t lived up to their expectations coming into the Test match. It was once again a familiar story for the Indian Cricket Team in overseas conditions at Lords, as they folded like a pack of cards and were bundled out twice within 90 overs, giving England a 2-0 lead in the five-match Test series.

India will look to bounce back on a stronger note in the next three tests to be played in the series, failing which, a 5-0 whitewash is certainly not out of contention. Here is a look into 5 things that went wrong in the 2nd Test between India and England at Lords :

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#5. Toss

India lost the Toss on a gloomy Day 2 Morning

The toss seemed to be the most vital factor ahead of play on Day 2 at the Lord’s Cricket Ground after Day 1 was washed out by incessant rain with not even a single delivery being bowled. Both the captains Virat Kohli and Joe Root had earlier expressed their desire to bowl first with the weather conditions not too apt for batting during the time of the toss.

The toss, however, did not go the way Virat Kohli and the Indian Cricket team would have hoped for. England captain Joe Root won the toss and unsurprisingly elected to bowl. The ball was expected to dart around for a session or two given the overcast conditions and a bit of moisture left over in the pitch with the covers on the pitch for quite some time.

The outcome of the game could have been entirely different had the toss gone in favour of the visiting team instead of the hosts

#4. Team Selection

Kuldeep Yadav was a complete failure in this match

There were several speculations as to how the playing XI for the second Test would shape up after the closely fought defeat against the same opponents at Edgbaston in the opening game of the series. When Virat Kohli announced the playing XI for the 2nd Test at the toss, there were two major changes.

The inclusion of chinaman Kuldeep Yadav as a second spinner alongside Ravichandran Ashwin in place of Umesh Yadav certainly came as an unprecedented surprise given the seam and swing friendly conditions of the pitch. The other change was the inclusion of Chesteshwar Pujara in place of Shikhar Dhawan, who has found it difficult to score in overseas conditions despite being given numerous chances to prove himself.

India certainly missed a trick or two by including two spinners in the playing XI given the assistance available to the fast bowlers on the seaming and swinging wicket. The spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav not only failed to pick up any wickets but also kept leaking runs which only added insult to India’s injury.

Ashwin ended with figures of 0/58 in his 19 overs at an economy of 4.00 while Kuldeep finished with 0/44 in his 9 overs at an economy of 4.89.

#3. Failure to capitalize on key moments of the game

Bairstow and Woakes took the game away from India

Despite being bowled out for a dismal 107 in the first innings of the Test match, India were in with a chance as the hosts were reduced to 131/5 thanks to a brilliant spell of fast bowling from Mohammed Shami who was well complimented at the other end by Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya bowling in tandem.

India were in with an opportunity to bundle out the opposition for less than 180 which would have allowed them to come back into the game after a poor show in the first innings with the bat. India, however, let the situation slip out of hand as England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow and all-rounder Chris Woakes steadied the ship for the hosts and went on to add a record 189 for the sixth wicket.

Bairstow missed out on a well-deserved hundred while Woakes stayed unbeaten till the end as England declared their innings at 296/7 with a massive lead of 289 in the first innings. There was no coming back from there as the visitors were once again bundled out for paltry 130 in their 2nd innings, thus losing by an innings and 159 runs.

#2. Inability of Indian batsmen to adjust to English conditions

English Fast Bowlers ran through the Indian Batting Line Up

The conditions in this part of the world were always going to be one of the major challenges for the Indian batsmen coming into the series. Facing the moving ball against top quality seam and swing bowling has always been one of the top-notch concerns of Indian batsmen touring overseas over the years.

The Indian batsmen, however, showed real signs of struggle in both the innings against the likes of Anderson, Broad and Woakes which only reveals their inability to adjust to the conditions on offer.

The top order failed miserably in both the innings and the middle order could hardly manage anything substantial enough to even give the visitors any sort of hope in the test match.

#1. Key bowlers missing due to injury

India missed Bhuvneshwar Kumar badly

India severely missed the services of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah in the bowling department. Bhubaneshwar Kumar, who is undoubtedly India’s best bowler with the ball darting around in the air and off the pitch as well, has performed exceedingly well over the last couple of years.

Kumar showcased his abilities with the moving ball in the recently concluded Test series against South Africa where he troubled the South African batsmen with his ability to swing the ball both ways. Kumar was one bowler who could have been devastating in these conditions and might have proved detrimental to India’s hopes of winning the Test match.

Death over specialist Jasprit Bumrah who has been recovering from a thumb injury could have been a valuable addition to the side given his ability to hit the deck hard and get the ball to do its bit off the seam. His ability to bowl the perfect yorkers could also have helped India clean up England’s lower order with much more ease, which might have ended up producing a different outcome at the end of the day.