England vs India 2018: 5 Reasons why India lost the Test series

#3. Losing both the close Tests

Cook retired at the end of the series.

Test matches are often decided in the span of a session or two. India continuously lost out in the close sessions. Even when they found themselves on top of the hosts, they would somehow let off the pressure and allow them to come back in the game.

There were two Tests in this series that could have easily gone either way - the first Test at Edgbaston and the fourth Test at The Ageas Bowl. Both times India looked set to win and ended up on the losing end.

At Edgbaston, it looked like just a formality. Chasing 194 to win, India had 5 wickets in hand with just 82 runs left to make. Virat Kohli was at the crease with Hardik Pandya still to come. Indian fans could not have been blamed for thinking that the result was a foregone conclusion. But they could not have predicted the Indian collapse that was to come leading to England winning the Test.

The fourth Test at The Ageas Bowl was a little trickier. India were chasing a respectable 245 on a pitch that was clearly helping the bowlers. But after a 101-run partnership between Kohli and Rahane, it looked like India would be levelling the series.

The fact that the pitch was acting like a subcontinental wicket should have helped the Indian side. Except that it did not and India lost their last 7 wickets for 61 runs, handing the hosts a 60-run victory.

Both matches could have been easily won by India if they had just delivered when it mattered the most. Unfortunately, they did not and England ended up winning the series 4-1. The result could have been so different, but Indian nerves failed at the wrong time.