Series Analysis

What happened in this series is a lesson for any team playing without a plan. Sehwag's dismissal of the first ball doesn't dilutes the momentum, but the way Dravid plays. He concentrates more on staying in the crease than scoring runs. This is like shielding that gives the opponent ample time and ways to think further on pushing them to the backfoot. That's the way Dravid plays and he alone can withstand the increase of speed and swing, but the rest of the team like to play shots and eventually perish when the bowlers get well settled in a rhythm gifted by Dravid. It wouldn't be a bad idea to play Dravid at 6 or 7 that will give the top order to play an attacking game early on. We have seen India losing wickets trying to defend and see off the new ball in test matches, but the same team scoring 300+ on similar pitches and tough bowlers in one dayers. Dhoni played his usual way and scored runs, and only very few of them came of edges and poor bowling.
A point to note here is that most of them played with straight bat on these swing friendly pitches in England. Masters play more horizontal bat shots in swinging conditions and strait batted shots on bouncy pitches. Sachin Tendulkar & Mark Waugh are good examples to learn from. Both of them go down on their knees bending their right elbow to get enough room to play a square drive or a cut over the point for good length deliveries outside off stump in swinging conditions. Moving to the line of the ball reduce the chances of playing tentatively. High bat lift gives more power and timing to score runs easily. Shots like these are so safe and has the touch of elegance that we have seen them (Sachin and Mark) playing so well.
There were big shots played towards the end of India's 2nd innings with Swann bowling continuously conceding more runs. This is a good strategy by England to entertain the Indian fans and to fill in the stands for the next match.
With the series lost, "India should play the 4th test as an one off test" Harsha says. It'll be good for the Indian team to take a step back and plan well before the one day series. Sure a 5-0 Indian win is on the cards if they play with a plan.