he Indian team’s defeat at Southampton followed a familiar pattern, a pattern which is all too familiar if you are an Indian fan.

The inconsistent batting, the inability of the bowlers to dismiss the lower order – all the ingredients of an Indian overseas loss – were present in this defeat as well. The biggest difference between Trent Bridge and Southampton was India had somehow avoided the clichés in the former but it came back to haunt them in the latter.

The Indian team arrived in England with a hope of winning the series. The series was against an opponent who were going through their own troubles. The English team had just drawn a series at home against an inexperienced Pakistan team.

The home team were struggling to find the right combination and, with the captain and their most experienced opener misfiring, India had a great chance to put this past the hosts.

For all the troubles England had, the visiting team had greater issues. The biggest problem for India was that, barring Virat Kohli, the batsmen took two Tests to get used to the conditions.

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