The script was all too familiar for the Indian bowlers. They sliced through the top order, put the team in the driver's seat and then struggled to close out the innings. Three England wickets remained when day 2 began and yet the Indian bowlers found no way to either contain the batsmen or plug the flow of runs. Virat Kohli too looked hapless, not for the first time in the series.
"We were in a good position at 198/7, but they batted well and we couldn't capitalise," Bumrah told reporters after the day's play. Even this reply felt all too common.
The fast-bowler who has been in an impressive form with the ball said that the bowlers put the ball in the right areas but the England batsmen applied themselves well.
'We can say they batted well'
"We tried hard to bowl in right areas but they also applied well, so we can say they batted well. It is not like we bowled poorly and they batted superbly. It's a combination of both," he added.
The Indian batsmen have faltered and this could is the reason why India have conceded the series, but then the inability of the bowlers to get rid of the tail too is one of the major issues which has plagued the team right through the series. Sam Curran bailed England out, both in Edgbaston and then again in Southampton, and this proved to be the difference between the two sides in the end.
So is there any lack of planning as the pattern is quite repetitive?
"There has been no specific planning for lower order batsmen. You plan for each batsman. Even if they are lower order, we respect them and play them that way. We tried to execute it today and it didn't work," Bumrah revealed.
India axed Hardik Pandya for this match and played Hanuma Vihari, which increased the workload of the regular bowlers and Bumrah believed this did play a part towards the end of the innings.
"When you have an extra bowler, sometimes it gives you that cushion. With four, you tend to bowl more overs because you tend to come back quickly. That was the only difference, otherwise we bowled a lot of overs. An extra bowler sometimes gives you enough rest," he added.
