10 reasons why India lost the England series

India have lost their first Test series in eight years on the home soil, while England have won their first in India in 28 years. MS Dhoni's 100 per cent victory record on the home soil has been broken. But this series defeat has exposed the loopholes in Indian cricket. So here are 10 reasons why India succumbed in Nagpur. (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

Team India underestimated England: It's been an age old saying that 'never underestimate your opponent', and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar only reiterated it. After the win in Ahmedabad, India became complacent because they underestimated the England team. And by the time, India realised their mistake, England were 2-1 up. (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

England were better prepared: The England team is one of the international teams that give most importance to Test cricket vis-à-vis other formats of the game. So it came as no surprise that they came here long before the series started, got acclimatised to the conditions. They look better prepared and with much more purpose. (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

Captain leading the way: England captain Alastair Cook, leading his side to the first ever tour as the full-time captain, followed the basic rule. To motivate his team, he made sure he led from the front. Cook, who batted for over 28 hours in series, emerged as the highest scorer with 562 runs. He scored three consecutive hundreds.

Dhoni took the cue but way too late in Nagpur where he, along with Kohli, saved another batting collapse. He missed out on his century by one run. (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

Opening woes: We know "All's well if it ends well", but what India didn't seem to understand was "Thing might turn better if it starts well". India batsmen Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, who undoubtedly form the most successful opening pair, haven't been among the runs as a pair. They managed to build a century stand just once in the series. They scored 134 runs in Ahmedabad and as the result sheet says, India won that match. (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

Key batsmen failed to click: None of the Indian batsmen, barring Cheteshwar Pujara, did justice to their reputation. We saw spurts of brilliance but they failed to fire in unison. And while all batsmen scored in one match or the other, the biggest disappointment was definitely Sachin Tendulkar, who could score just 112 runs in eight innings. The highest run-getter in the world finished lowest among the key batsmen from both the sides. (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

No solidity in middle order: It is in situations like these that you understand the importance of the likes of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Pujara did a great job as the new No. 3 but he seldom got support from other members of the team. The 'once-invincible' middle order looked feeble and vulnerable. It wasn't the lack ability of the players that disappointed the fans; it was the attitude that left them sore. (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

Pitch talks: There is nothing new in captains demanding for pitches favouring the home team. But skipper MS Dhoni went little overboard with it. Dhoni lambasted the Motera track despite winning the first Test. He said he wanted a spinning track and didn't care if the match ended in three days. India fell prey to its own ploy as England spinners Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann wreaked havoc in the Indian camp. Dhoni remained adamant and met with the similar fate in Kolkata. Moral of the story: Believe in yourself more than relying on others. (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

Bowling potency: Barring Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin to some extent, none of the Indian bowlers looked anything close to lethal. Zaheer Khan looked disinterested while Harbhajan Singh, who played just one match, looked only a shadow of himself. One area in which almost all bowlers struggled was providing breakthroughs when it was most needed. (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

Butter fingers: And if it wasn't bad enough that Indian bowlers couldn't torment the English batsmen, our fielders squandered the chances which could have turned the matches on their heads. If Pujara was caught napping when Cook knocked one directly to him in Kolkata, Sehwag was all badly balanced to collect Kevin Pietersen's catch in Nagpur. These are just two of the many missed chances. (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

Stubborn strategies: Cricket pundits slammed India MS Dhoni for being stubborn with his on-field decisions, field placements and his persistent demand of spin-tracks. India's poor show has triggered the call of his removal as India's Test captain. (Image Courtesy: BCCI)