India vs England: Virat Kohli’s men looked lost, over-run and crushed during defeat at Lord’s

The Indian cricket team is no stranger to defeats, especially on overseas soil. But this is the first time under skipper Virat Kohli that the team has looked so lost, over-run and crushed.

In that sense, Sunday’s result was not just a defeat; it was a gut-wrenching demolition of the very spirit of this Indian side.

A total score of 107 in the first innings and 130 in the second innings of a Test where they were overwhelmed by an innings and 159 was mortifying. But what really underscored India’s unenviable predicament was that their best effort came not from any frontline batsman, but from off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who ended up top scoring in both innings (29 & 33 not out).

It was the clearest indication that this team has a major problem with its batting personnel, some of whom might well be beyond the ‘use-by’ date.

In the past too, Indian batting line-ups have collapsed on overseas tours. But the quality and calibre of those batting line-ups was inspiring. Master batsman Sunil Gavaskar, for instance, had such wonderful players like GR Vishwanath and later Dilip Vengsarkar and Mohinder Amarnath, among others, to offer quality support.

His successor Sachin Tendulkar too was blessed with support from batting stars, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag.

That’s where Kohli and this team have not been so lucky. On the basis of this Test’s performance, Kohli’s Dravid or VVS or Vengsarkar was Ashwin! And when a team starts scrapping the bottom of the barrel to come up with batsmen, you realise that issues are far greater than mundane ones like ‘who’ll open the batting’.

It could be argued that India’s selectors in the recent past wasted far too much time and effort on the likes of Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane. Had the two developed on expected lines they could have been the Rahul Dravid or Dilip Vengsarkar of the present team.

Unfortunately their average, or below-average, performances were condoned once too often with the result that their inability to blossom into top notch batsmen now haunts the team.

The team sorely needed experience and class at the top to rally around Kohli. That was sadly lacking. The ageing Murali Vijay looked way past his best. KL Rahul certainly has some way to go before he could be depended upon. The same could be said of Hardik Pandya. As for Dinesh Karthik, it was too embarrassing to watch him bat against the moving ball.

In the past, under Kohli, India has lost Test series in Australia and South Africa. But the team was not disgraced like it was in this Test. The team actually gave a good account of itself in Australia when it tried to chase down a huge fourth innings target of 363 in the short time available. India drew two Tests on that tough tour.

Even in South Africa, where Kohli’s team won a Test, there were plenty of occasions where the batsmen looked the part. They might have lost the series 2-1 but there were moments when it seemed that they had the home team on the run.

Indeed, when India ran England pretty close in the first Test it seemed like the team was getting into its groove. Of course, it was Kohli’s bat that had done all the talking at Edgbaston. But it was expected that the others would come to the party very soon.

Alas! That has not happened. On the other hand, the second Test rout showed most of them in very poor light. If they had not learnt their lessons after so many innings and nets sessions, the only inference to be drawn is that they need all conditions in their favour before they can get cracking. By then it might be too late.

Kohli, at the moment, looks as lonely and isolated as a Cristiano Ronaldo or a Lionel Messi seemed during the FIFA World Cup in Russia. Brilliant as they were, without the requisite support they looked forlorn and lost.

At best, the Indian team can console itself with the belief that all is not lost. They still have the series to play for. But the question is would the players recover psychologically from such a massive pounding? We’ll know soon enough when the third Test gets underway at Trent Bridge on Saturday.