India vs England: Fourth innings blues haunt Indian bowlers yet again

Another final innings goof up, another failure for the Indian team as England chase down 378 runs to register a historic 7-wicket win at Edgbaston.

A shoddy show by the Indian bowlers in the last innings turned the game upside down for Jasprit Bumrah-led Indian side.

The Indian team went all out with pace alongside a lone spinner in Ravindra Jadeja, but the strategy misfired for the visitors in the final innings. Their poor show with the ball in the final innings once again came to haunt them in the series-decider.

Loose deliveries, lack of variations, and questionable economy rate in England’s 2nd innings became India’s nemesis in the final game of the 5-match series vs England.

Just as the team struggled against a feeble-looking South African team earlier this year, losing the final two Tests against the Proteas, the Indian attack looked toothless yet again.

Despite setting up a daunting 378-run target, India failed to capitalise. Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow who did most of the job on Day 4, continued their good run on the final day as they together wrapped the final match with an unbeaten 269-run partnership, helping the English side register a fourth consecutive win in the longest format.

Also Read India vs England: Rahul Dravid analyses what went wrong for Team India in the 5th Test

Bumrah’s 2 consecutive wickets on Day 4 did bring some respite after a century stand by the openers, but the inability of other bowlers to contain the English side washed away India’s chances of breaching the Edgbaston fort.

After a promising start, India lost the plot completely by the end of the 5th Test. While Bumrah & Shami bowled well in patches, Shardul Thakur & Mohd Siraj spurted out runs. Mohd Siraj (15 overs) was smashed for 6.5 runs/over, while Bumrah (17 overs), Shami’s (15 overs) economy was at around 4.3, Thakur (11 overs) at 5.91, Jadeja (18.4 overs) conceded 3.32 runs per over. In all, India gave away 208 runs just in boundaries in the fourth innings.

A similar turnaround happened in South Africa, where the Proteas handed India 7-wicket losses in the final two Tests.

The Indian bowlers in South Africa too shone at the beginning. However, they failed miserably in the final innings of the low-scoring affairs, eventually losing the series 2-1.

There also, India were favourites to win the matches, much like they were when they took a 132-run lead in the first innings in the Edgbaston Test. But like in South Africa, the bowlers failed to close out the game in the final innings once again.

India missed out on their first-ever series victory in South Africa, and now they have failed to win their first series in England since 2007 as well.

The wait for glory continues for Team India!