Failure to finish: How India lost the series to England's lower order

England's lower-middle order came back to haunt India again as the hosts posted a total of 332 in their first innings in the fifth and final Test match at Kia Oval on Saturday.

Indian bowlers had done a great job on Friday when they had reduced England to 198/7 at the close of play. On Saturday morning, they were hoping to get it all wrapped up quickly.

However, they forgot one key thing- the mighty grit shown by the England lower order in this series.

England's tail wagged again with partnerships of 34, 98 and 20 runs for the 8th, 9th and 10th wickets respectively.

Jos Buttler was the man who led the fight back with his 89 while Stuart Broad contributed a healthy 38. Butler and Broad were involved in an infuential 98 run partnership for the ninth wicket. England added 134 to their overnight total.

This was not the first time England's 'lesser batsmen' had denied India an advantage in the series.

Kohli knows too

Even Indian skipper Virat Kohli had admitted that the England’s “frustrating” lower order batsmen proved the difference after losing the Southampton Test and the series.

“It is quite handy to have guys who can strike the ball well at six, seven and eight because you have nothing to lose,” Kohli had said. “Once you get a partnership going it can be frustrating for the opposition.”

In that particular series-deciding match, England were reeling at 86/6 in the first innings, but ended with 246 - an addition of 160 runs. In the second innings, England were 122/5 but ended with 271 runs. 

If India had managed to dismiss the lower order quickly, the story of this series could have been very different. However, England's lower order has defied India many time in the series as the visitors have struggled to put 'the finishing touches'. 

Tail-end blues for India

India have failed to curtail the tail throughout the series. England's first five wicket partnerships have added 1130 runs in the eight innings while the last five wicket partnerships have added 1029 runs. 

In fact, in the eight innings played by England in this series so far, their bottom half has outscored the top-half in 4. 

On the other hand India's first five wicket partnerships have added 1169 runs in the eight innings while the last five partnerships have added just 642 runs. 

It is clear that the difference between the two teams lies in the batting performances of the bottom halves.

Here's how England have done so far in the series

Here's how India have done so far in the series:

Late order heroes 

There is no surprise that England's batting heroes from this series come from the lower order. Jos Buttler, who bats at No.6, has scored 349 runs so far to become England's top scorer in the series. Sam Curran, who bats at No.7, is at number two for the hosts with 251 runs. Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes have also added valueble runs for England in the series.

On the other hand, Hardik Pandya's 52 is the only half-century scored by an lower-middle order Indian batsmen in the series. Pandya scored 164 runs for the visitors in the four test matches while R Ashwin scored 126 runs.

(Stats courtesy: ESPNCricinfo)