England v India number cruncher: A tale of batting collapses and Dhoni's abysmal away record

A respectable draw in the first Test at Nottingham, a memorable win in the second Test at Lord’s after 28 years, things were looking so promising for India in the five-match Test series, but a dropped catch at slip of out of form English captain set a chain of events that culminated with India getting thrashed in all the remaining matches.

India’s performance was so poor at times it looked as if they have fielded a team of school kids. At The Oval, India lost by an innings and 244 runs – the third heaviest defeat inflicted upon them by any side in 483 Tests played by India since 1932.

At Manchester even though nearly two sessions were lost due to rain, India still managed to lose the match on the third day. At Oval also, India lost the match within three days. The combined total of India’s two innings was not even half of England’s total.

In Manchester, India’s two innings lasted for just 89.4 overs. At Oval, Indian batsmen could occupy the crease for just 90.3 overs. It is like getting bundled out twice in a day – in successive Tests.

This was a series of batting collapses for India. In almost every match wickets fell in heaps — sometimes twice in the same innings. Take a look:

Only for the fifth time India lost a series after taking a lead. Three of them have come against England.

England’s resilience made them only the second team in entire Test history to trail in a five-match Test series after the second Test, but then winning next three on the trot. The only other side to do this is was Don Bradman’s Australia in 1936-37. Two sides have done so in a six-match series. The details:

MS Dhoni’s captaincy has come under scrutiny after the debacle and there are some critics who hold him responsible for India’s woes. While this may not be completely true, the fact that India have not won any series outside India under Dhoni in last three years cannot be attributed to just bad luck. Interestingly it was against England in 2011 that Dhoni’s midas touch finally deserted him. Till that time India had not suffered a single series-defeat under Dhoni. Since then, however, India have lost six out of 10 series they have played, with all four wins coming at home.

The following table gives details of Dhoni’s captaincy in two phases – before England series in 2011 and since then. Dhoni has been remarkable at home, but his away record has been abysmal from being pretty good.

Dhoni is now inching towards a dubious distinction. He has now lost 14 Tests outside India. Among all captains in Test history, only two have suffered more losses in away Tests. With this form, Dhoni may share the dubious distinction or even hold the record on his own in the upcoming Australia tour.

Note: Graeme Smith’s tally excludes one match in which he was captaining ICC World XI.