England vs India 2018: 4 Reasons why India lost the Test series vs England

#3 Ashwin not being up to the mark at Southampton

Ashwin's inability to find form cost India dearly at Southampton

Ravichandran Ashwin is undoubtedly one of the best spinners in the world currently. That he is the fastest player to reach200, 250 and 300 Test wickets is no small achievement.

In the first Test at Edgbaston, Ashwin proved his credentials as India's no. 1 Test spinner as he ripped through the English batting line-up.

His twin dismissals of Alastair Cook is a stuff of the legends. There was dip, grip, turn and drift in his bowling as he enticed the English batsmen to make mistakes and ended up with seven wickets.

In Lord's though, there was nothing much he could have done as the assistance for spinners was minimal and in India's victory at Trent Bridge his contribution was minimal.

However, Ashwin faltered when it mattered the most. In Southampton, there was no semblance of his performance at Edgbaston.

There were distinct footmarks visible on the pitch in Southampton that would have had any spinner smacking his lips.

But Ashwin failed to capitalize on the advantage as he failed to consistently land the ball on the rough.

Instead, he focussed more on variations and experimented too much. Moreover, he consistently bowled at a higher pace, above 90 kph, something that acted as an impediment on a track where spinners are expected to bowl at a slower pace in order to entice the batsmen.

On the contrary, his English counterpart Moeen Ali executed his job perfectly as he bowled consistently into the rough and constantly had Indian batsmen on the mat, taking nine wickets and helping England wrap up the series.

Ali rarely experimented and stuck his basics, bowling at a much slower pace, as was expected on this wicket.

Also, his injury did not help Ashwin's cause. Ashwin ended up picking only 1 wicket in England's second innings which was a major cause of India's undoing as the Indian batsmen found the target unsurmountable.