Last Updated: July 21, 2026 04:15 PM
India ended their 2026 UK tour with just one win. England beat India 2-1 in the ODI series. The series marked Shubman Gill’s third ODI series loss. Despite strong batting performances, India failed to chase the target. Let’s read why India toiled during this vital series.
Poor Team Selection and Bowling Attack Cause India Struggled Issue
India played the first two ODIs with only 3 bowlers. KL Rahul was left out of the second match completely. Jasprit Bumrah did not play in the series decider. Kuldeep Yadav was not selected despite other spinners struggling.
India’s bowling lacked wicket-taking ability in the middle overs. Only 3 wickets fell between overs 20 and 40. Questionable selection decisions negatively impacted overall team balance there. The bowling attack proved to be the major weakness.
Prasidh Krishna and other bowlers conceded runs at very expensive rates. India’s strategy of playing minimal specialist bowlers backfired badly. Missing Bumrah hurt India’s chances in the crucial match. Selection errors created imbalance in the playing XI.
Failure of the Middle Order Throughout the Entire Series
India’s top-order had the batting throughout the entire series. Rohit Sharma scored a century in the final match. Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli scored two half-centuries. The middle-order failed to deliver good support to the batting lineup.
Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Ishan Kishan collectively managed runs. Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, and Washington Sundar contributed very little. The middle order scored only 243 runs total there. Lack of consistent contributions increased pressure on top-order batsmen.
Key batsmen like Shreyas Iyer underperformed during the match completely. Supporting batsmen failed to build on good starts. Middle-order batting became a major point of concern.
Poor Bowling Performance in Middle Overs Management Badly
India’s bowling unit bowled well only in the opening. Jasprit Bumrah held an amazing economy rate of 4. Bumrah picked up only 2 wickets during the entire series. Axar Patel and Prasidh Krishna took 5 wickets there.
However, they conceded runs at expensive rates throughout the series. Bowlers struggled to break important partnerships during the middle overs. In the final ODI at Lord’s, bowlers failed to execute effectively. India’s bowlers failed to build pressure on England.
England’s bowlers outperformed India by hitting hard lengths. Restricting India’s batting lineup proved to be quite difficult. The bowling strategy needed significant improvement for future series ahead.
