Why India is not getting the results it wants despite Kohli's heroics

India suffered a 60-run defeat against England in the fourth test in Southampton on Sunday to go down 1-3 in the five-match series. In this article, the author compares the series defeat with the one in South Africa recently to figure out what hampers the Indian test team's performance abroad.

Ravi Shastri was seething. In the aftermath of the ODI and T20 series wins in South Africa earlier this year, he gave a much-discussed interview to Mid Day where the coach went to the extent of claiming that people in India are happy to see the Men in Blue lose. The regret over losing the Test series 1-2 was palpable. According to Shastri’s “calculation”, India had lost because it won two sessions less than the Proteas.

But others chose to place their scrutiny on the preparations for the tour, which had India going into the first Test without any warm-up games. This changed when India arrived in England. The majority of the squad spent a month before the Tests, as the limited-overs games were scheduled ahead. It raised hope that India would do better this time.

It also helped that England was in a shaky moment. An uncertain batting order brought confusion and collapses while the selection of leggie Adil Rashid was a contentious call, particularly so because his record in red-ball cricket was little to speak about. Read Complete Article