NEW DELHI: When it seemed India had been clawing back into the fourth Test towards England, a decrease middle-order collapse spelled doom and England registered their 3rd victory of the five-match collection to take an unassailable Three-1 lead.
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According to former India batsman VVS Laxman, England "seizing the key moments" and India captain Virat Kohli lacking "consistent support" from other batsmen proved to be the difference in the collection.
"India did several things right in Southampton as they strived for a series-levelling win in the 4th Test," Laxman wrote in his column for Times of India. "But it was England that seized the key moments."
India required 245 to win the Southampton Test however had been bundled out for 184 in spite of half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane bringing them back into reckoning after another top-order stutter.
Laxman mentioned it's "disappointing for a team that has everything it takes to be successful, away from home too."
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While the Indian bowlers once once more carried out much more consistently than the batting unit on an out of the country Test excursion, Laxman felt India allowed England to flee after pushing them in a tight corner.
"As brilliantly as the bowlers have performed, they allowed England to get out of jail in both innings of the fourth Test. England have an array of attacking talent in the lower middle order, using those resources to recover from 86/6 on the first morning and 92/4 on the third afternoon to post 246 and 271, respectively," wrote Laxman, one among India's Test icons.
"This, however, is not a one-off," he added. "It happened in Birmingham when Sam Curran defied them with attractive runs, a theme that was to repeat itself at Lord’s. That’s something for the Indian think-tank to look into, because the hallmark of champion sides lies in not repeating their mistakes."
Laxman, who used to be thought to be one of the vital best to bat with the tailenders, mentioned Pujara's century revealed a distinct aspect of his batting.
"Cheteshwar Pujara played a brilliant hand and batted exceptionally with the tail – a hitherto unrevealed facet to his batting – to take the team to a modest lead but India squandered a golden chance to bat England," he mentioned.
The batting great urged India to check what resulted in losing so many wickets towards spinner Moeen Ali, who bagged a match-haul of nine scalps in Southampton.
"Moeen had been low on confidence after the winter tours of Australia and New Zealand. While it is commendable on his part to have capped his return with the Man-of-the-Match award, India must introspect and analyse why they have been unable to crack the Moeen mystery," Laxman urged.
Laxman opined that strengthen in batting for Virat Kohli is what's leading to India's inconsistent show out of the country.
"India have been more than competitive in a majority of their five away losses in South Africa and England in 2018, but Virat and his men will find scant consolation in that," he mentioned.
"The bowling has by and large been incisive but, in admittedly tricky conditions, the batting has been found wanting. Virat has been an overwhelming exception, and during his century stand with Ajinkya Rahane in the fourth innings, raised visions of a glorious victory in Southampton. But he needs consistent support, and that hasn’t always been forthcoming," he concluded.
ALSO READ: Azharuddin questions the role of Team India's strengthen group of workers
According to former India batsman VVS Laxman, England "seizing the key moments" and India captain Virat Kohli lacking "consistent support" from other batsmen proved to be the difference in the collection.
"India did several things right in Southampton as they strived for a series-levelling win in the 4th Test," Laxman wrote in his column for Times of India. "But it was England that seized the key moments."
India required 245 to win the Southampton Test however had been bundled out for 184 in spite of half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane bringing them back into reckoning after another top-order stutter.
Laxman mentioned it's "disappointing for a team that has everything it takes to be successful, away from home too."
ALSO READ: Crucial strategic errors let India down in England
While the Indian bowlers once once more carried out much more consistently than the batting unit on an out of the country Test excursion, Laxman felt India allowed England to flee after pushing them in a tight corner.
"As brilliantly as the bowlers have performed, they allowed England to get out of jail in both innings of the fourth Test. England have an array of attacking talent in the lower middle order, using those resources to recover from 86/6 on the first morning and 92/4 on the third afternoon to post 246 and 271, respectively," wrote Laxman, one among India's Test icons.
"This, however, is not a one-off," he added. "It happened in Birmingham when Sam Curran defied them with attractive runs, a theme that was to repeat itself at Lord’s. That’s something for the Indian think-tank to look into, because the hallmark of champion sides lies in not repeating their mistakes."
Laxman, who used to be thought to be one of the vital best to bat with the tailenders, mentioned Pujara's century revealed a distinct aspect of his batting.
"Cheteshwar Pujara played a brilliant hand and batted exceptionally with the tail – a hitherto unrevealed facet to his batting – to take the team to a modest lead but India squandered a golden chance to bat England," he mentioned.
The batting great urged India to check what resulted in losing so many wickets towards spinner Moeen Ali, who bagged a match-haul of nine scalps in Southampton.
"Moeen had been low on confidence after the winter tours of Australia and New Zealand. While it is commendable on his part to have capped his return with the Man-of-the-Match award, India must introspect and analyse why they have been unable to crack the Moeen mystery," Laxman urged.
Laxman opined that strengthen in batting for Virat Kohli is what's leading to India's inconsistent show out of the country.
"India have been more than competitive in a majority of their five away losses in South Africa and England in 2018, but Virat and his men will find scant consolation in that," he mentioned.
"The bowling has by and large been incisive but, in admittedly tricky conditions, the batting has been found wanting. Virat has been an overwhelming exception, and during his century stand with Ajinkya Rahane in the fourth innings, raised visions of a glorious victory in Southampton. But he needs consistent support, and that hasn’t always been forthcoming," he concluded.
'England seized key moments, Kohli lacked support'
!['England seized key moments, Kohli lacked support']()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
September 04, 2018
Rating:
