What Happened To India After Lords?

[hawkeye]

India seemed on the ascendency after Lords victory while England appeared to be on the back foot. So why have their fortunes been reversed so quickly?

India's advantage was further solidified by the rut into which the hosts had fallen. England was supposed to be a side in disarray with under-performing senior batsmen and weary fast bowlers. Captain Alastair Cook was handicapped by horrendous form and was in the firing line of every pundit in the business and every past-player venturing an opinion. The team had endured loss after loss, beginning with a chastening Australian summer, followed by turmoil on and off the field. And to top it all off, Sri Lanka had just pulled off a series defeat only weeks before India arrived.

That England was ripe for the taking, and India had the team to do it, was substantiated by the first two games. After having the better of play at Trent Bridge, the visitors forced a historic victory at Lords and seemed on the way to writing another chapter in English cricket's recent tale of woe.

So again, what happened? What has caused a soaring India to crash and burn in such a roaring blaze, losing at The Ageas Bowl by all of 266 runs, and at Old Trafford by an innings and 54 runs? The hosts have undoubtedly improved, but the tourists, especially their batting has gone some way backwards.

What Happened India?

 

[greymatter776]

Ishant ? Well thats a direct difference before and after in bowling.A combination of Kumar,Aaron and IShant would have been deadly which is evident form the 4th test.Aaron made the first break followed by Bhuvi getting some scalps but by then both of them where tired.Pankaj is just getting used and if there was Ishant we would have packed up the visitors for a much lower score.Also Vijay hasn't been given the ball as regular as he was given in the first two tests.
But the real problem is now the batting.Vijay takes time to settle,Gambhir who opened in the 4th test also takes his time to get going and Pujara is a natural slow scorer.This hurts.We saw Vijay trying to score faster just because both the openers where trying to defend.Now I think we need an aggressor on the top order who takes the pressure of Vijay and Pujara.Kohli.... well I can't find what he is doing wrong but whatever it is it is not doing him any good.Rahane is good but his shot selection hasn't benn the greatest.On Dhoni,if he had used the aggression he has when he bats to when he is in the field,India would have been in a much better position.I think the Lord's victory made him to be defensive.

 

[PokerAce]

What Happened To India After Lords?

In one sentence - Jadeja dropped a catch ...

 

[PokerAce]

Oh and I forgot Moenn Ali happened ... he picked up all those wickets because he got the Indian Batsmen in two minds ... They couldn't decide between whether to hit him for a six or a four

 

[Satan666]

In one sentence - Jadeja dropped a catch ...

This is the prime reason why India are not able to move forward. They constantly single out one of there own, a particular situation or blame an opposing side. Never get to the root causes of the problem.

 

[PokerAce]

This is the prime reason why India are not able to move forward. They constantly single out one of there own, a particular situation or blame an opposing side. Never get to the root causes of the problem.

Haha wow, over-react much? Its alright though, don't blame yourself, humor is lost on a lot of ppl

 

[used2bcool]

A switch got flipped somewhere, we woke up one morning before the Rose Bowl and went, "Oh wait, we're not supposed to be doing well in England!" Then everything else fell into place.