[PPS]

Originally Posted by Oxy

Pujara escaped a couple of times with the ball keeping low, while Kohli got out to one the bounced almost shoulder high. Uneven bounce was definitely there.

This happened when England was bowling. Perhaps they're stronger & more hit the deck kinda bowlers compared to India! Watched India bowl yesterday for a bit & couldn't see any uneven bounce. Our backup bowling comprising of Shardul & Siraj was poor with both conceding almost 6 rpo. Shami bowled 18 overs on the trot spread across 3 sessions in the 1st innings thanks to the rains.

[Oxy]

Originally Posted by PPS

Our backup bowling comprising of Shardul & Siraj was poor with both conceding almost 6 rpo.

Yes, Ashwin should have played ahead of Shardul in hindsight.

[am1m]

Whatever the result (and it seems like there is going to be only one result now), was an entertaining match, swinging in one side's favour then the other!

But were it not for Pant's awesome innings, this would have been over much earlier. And given the nature of Pant's batting, even that could have gone the other way. (Which is not to say his approach is wrong- that's what he is meant to do.) The issue that has been there for some time now is the top order. I hope Kohli calls time out on his own after this series. But going by almost every other Indian legend, I doubt that will happen, so I hope the selectors do their job. And seriously, what is the issue with playing (or rather not playing) Ashwin?!

[hemanth.anand]

India First Innings 2 batters scored 250 runs, bottom 3 scored 50 runs, extras 40. So remaining 6 players scored only 60 runs!
India second Innings 2 batters scored 123 runs, bottom 3 scored 22 runs, extras 19. So remaining 6 people scored only 80 runs!
This result just shows that a team game is won only when all contribute.
Day 4 morning, India has the match in it's grasp but by end of the Day 4, India had gifted the match away to England. What a wonderful opportunity to win a series in England has been lost!
But irrespective of that, what a wonderful match it was. The high run rate of both teams made sure there was a result even though a lot of time was lost to rain.

[VWAllstar]

Mumbai Rains please pay a visit to Birmingham, ASAP!

The above post says a lot why I am hoping against hope by calling to our Rain Gods. Virat should GO, Ashwin should be IN.

[SoumenD]

Wow!!! Bairstow and Root have made a mockery of our bowling attack, that too in 4th innings which normally is regarded as the toughest to bat. India were the favorites till 4th day lunch. Post that England played a One-Day game and now the result makes it look one sided. Take a bow Joe Root and Bairstow. You guys deserve it.

As for India, top 5 batsmen failing in both innings(except pujara to some extent in 2nd) is just pathetic. You can't expect Pant and Jadeja to do all the heavy lifting all the time. Wonder what's the reason for such a disappointing top order performance? Too much of IPL/T20?

[Oxy]

Ideally we should have batted them out of the game, should have lasted till tea yesterday minimum. It was just lame batting against a not so good bowling attack. Giving 5-fer to an over the hill Anderson (in the first innings) and 4-fer to a dibbly dobbler like Stokes shows how poor our batsmen actually are.

[Mumbaiker]

What an anticlimactic end to this test.

Started with India down 98/5 and piling on a massive 416 in the first innings. Pinning them to 83-5 and getting a sizable 132 runs lead. Then again setting a target of 378 which should have been a tough chase.

Did the Bairstow drop by Vihari cost us the match? or it wouldnt have been any different with Root and Stokes at crease?

[harry10]

India had many issues this game -

Fielders dropped too many catches. Didn't bat well at all in 2nd innings. Bowling barring shami and Bumrah was mediocre. Should have played Ash.

Our openers were missing. Gill is useless against moving ball. Kohli should be dropped. Iyer can't play short ball to save his life. Vihari doesn't know how to score and only defends and has such low range of shots that he doesn't even looks like a top 5 batter.

On a flat pitch against England in their current form India needed atleast 550+ to defend.

Only few positives -

Bumrah Captaincy and bowling was good. Liked his calmness especially with DRS.

Pant and jaddu batting was absolutely brilliant.

Pujara is back to his fav position and in some decent form. County did help him.

Shami bowling was outstanding. Only if he had some luck on his side.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Mumbaiker

Did the Bairstow drop by Vihari cost us the match? or it wouldnt have been any different with Root and Stokes at crease?

Going by recent form of Stokes, I don't think it would have made much of a difference and they would have got to the target with the lower order, the pitch eased out a lot as well and our bowling was wayward.

This should be a template/reference for tests going forward (on good batting pitches especially) - importance of batting well in the second innings could not have been emphasized more. For India, it just reinforces the fact that the bowling and lower order batting alone cannot win all games.

So, for India it is now 7 games lost in a row at Edgbaston!

[PPS]

Sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition. England were bloody good! I had no hopes before the Test began, but India dominated till Day 3 & to lose from there is a tough pill to swallow. Under Dravid, India has now lost 3 of the last 4 overseas tests! If I remember correctly, SA in SA also made it look easy while chasing.

[harry10]

All said and done it's so funny how English media is portraying this 4 test stuff fondly known as 'Bazball' the great resurgence. Conveniently forgetting they are playing at home in conditions highly favourable to them.

Yes they were excellent in chasing but pitch was flat, Indian bowling only had 2 genuine threats, indian catching was below par and Indian top order has forgotten how to win matches since sometime.

The media has started saying Australia should be afraid of England now in ashes which is so laughable when we see England's record in Australia or even Root's record in Australia.

Let these guys win like this in Australia and India ( 2 toughest places in world cricket for a visiting team to win, especially India) and then I will agree this Bazball stuff has created a resurgence.

And our team needs a resurgence as well. I had high hopes from Dravid but sad to see it has been a disappointment so far. Win or loss goes on but atleast make correct team selection.

[deehunk]

Dravid may not last long as the coach, Kohli, must make way for new players. Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer have been under trial for 4 years. How long will this experiment be continued? I think Ishanth got a raw deal when compared to persisting with Virat Kohli.

[Oxy]

Just read the news that India has been penalized two world test championship points for slow over rate. This is rubbing insult to injury.

Had Ashwin played, we could have saved these couple of crucial points atleast.

[AtheK]

Great show by Hardik so good to see him back and hungry.

Meanwhile Mr.Kohli wants to rest for T20I series in WI also, man this guy is busy digging his own grave, what did he do to take rest, got tired of yapping and dancing on the field?

I will be surprised to see him in playing 11 against England itself, he is non deserving currently and I would be happy if selectors declare that they are resting Kohli for WC also.