Team India and its woes of defending targets in away Tests

India’s chances of making it to the WTC final next year are hanging by a thread after a demoralizing defeat to England in the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston. Incidentally, the loss was their third successive away defeat in Tests. Although India’s lack of preparation was a factor in the game against England, there has been a pattern in India’s last three defeats. All three defeats came similarly as the opposition chased down India’s target in the fourth innings without breaking much of a sweat. Although the Indian head coach highlighted their batting failures in the second innings in recent times, one feels it was the Indian bowlers who have let the team down in the fourth innings of matches.

We look at India’s struggle in away Tests recently :

Against South Africa, Johannesburg

India were riding on a high after their victory in the opening Test against the hosts at Centurion. But they were dragged back to reality after South Africa chased a target of 240 runs in the fourth innings with seven wickets to spare. The Indian bowlers lacked venom in the fourth innings as the South African skipper Dean Elgar saw his side home with a resilient 96* to draw levels in the series.

Against South Africa, Cape Town

The defeat in the second Test was considered a rare blip by the Indian team management as they were eying a historic series victory in South Africa heading into the third Test. But instead, it was a repeat of the previous Test as the hosts once again chased a target in excess of 200 on a tricky pitch in the fourth innings. Elgar was once again the antagonist for the Indian side, but it was the young Keegan Petersen who stole the show on the day and remained largely untroubled against a world-class Indian bowling unit.

Against England, Edgbaston

The rescheduled fifth and final Test from 2021 was hosted by Birmingham and promised to be a cracker of a contest. Indians dominated the proceeding in the first three days, and bowlers, who were undercooked for the game, performed admirably in the first innings. But the resurgent English batting unit under the regime of Brendon McCullum took a heavy toll in the fourth innings as they chased down their highest-ever score with utter nonchalance as the Indian bowlers produced a toothless performance.