The last time England failed to defend a Test match target they thought would be beyond the opposition it cost them not only the series but also their captain. Eternal optimist Kevin Pietersen insists neither consequence need be repeated in India.

Michael Vaughan quit four months ago after South Africa comfortably chased down 281 in the fourth innings at Edgbaston and, despite putting on a brave face, Pietersen must have felt almost as sick as his predecessor last night once India scored 387 runs to claim an emotional six-wicket victory.

England's still L-plated skipper is determined to lead the team out in Mohali on Friday, however, despite nursing a fractured rib which, were he not captain, would almost certainly see him sidelined. And, as for losing this two-match series, Pietersen refuses to give up the ghost.

"I've got a fractured rib which I did before the one-day international in Cuttack (three weeks ago), and I think I did it again last weekend when we were training in Abu Dhabi," said Pietersen. "But I'm all right. There are no dramas and I'll play on pain-killers and just deal with it. We've just got to pick ourselves up for the next one."

Easier said than done, surely?

"I think it's simple," replied Pietersen. "Seventy per cent of this First Test was ours - we lost 30 per cent and lost the fixture. Last time we were in India we drew the series by winning the last Test, and we've got one Test left here to try to do the same."

It is one thing the captain talking a good game, however, and quite another for his team to come out firing just 72 hours after losing a Test from a position of power.

Indeed, impossible though it seemed a week ago, England have managed to make their Indian mission harder still and it will now be nothing short of a cricketing miracle if they go home fulfilled. Beaten 2-0 looks a much more likely outcome, and maybe with time to spare in Mohali.

Few people would have been surprised to see Pietersen's ill-prepared team swept away in the First Test after having their minds full of security issues in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist attack. Instead, they defied logic - and a lack of meaningful practice - to rattle India for the thick end of four days.

But losing from there will be harder to take than being outplayed from ball one - with the hangover correspondingly heavier.

The game was ripped out of England's control on the fourth evening by Virender Sehwag's brutal innings of 83. Then it was taken clean away from them yesterday when Sachin Tendulkar - who else? - and Yuvraj Singh put together their brilliant partnership of 163.

But while Pietersen's bowlers, Andrew Flintoff and debut-maker Graeme Swann excepted, will take most of any blame being handed out once people stop praising India's strokemakers, there is another cause for concern.

England are no longer occasional visitors to the sub-continent. They visited Pakistan and India three years ago and were in Sri Lanka last December. Yet their batsmen seem unable to move out of first gear on slow, dusty pitches against either clever pacemen or canny spinners.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene was critical of England's stodgy batting in Kandy, Colombo and Galle 12 months ago while, here, both Harbhajan Singh and Sehwag pointed to the visitors' negative mindset.

On the fourth afternoon of the game here, only 57 runs came from 23 overs for England at a time when India should have been on the rack, not strangling the life out of the side supposedly in command.

Their lead by yesterday's declaration ought to have been at least 40 runs more but even century-makers Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood perished when they attempted to step on the gas, rather than accumulate quietly.

That said, Pietersen's attack ought to have been able to keep India at bay in the fourth innings - or at least make them sweat a bit over a target of 387.

Monty Panesar was the biggest disappointment because it now seems clear that his development has stalled.

True, Panesar's preparations have been hit at every turn since the end of the summer with plans for him to play club cricket in Sri Lanka, be coached by Mushtaq Ahmed and spend a decent spell with the Performance Squad in Bangalore being scuppered by one thing and another. But the left-arm spinner who made his debut in India nearly three years ago is not a novice any more and ought to be able to find a rhythm, and the right speed to bowl at, after a few overs.

And then, of course, there is Steve Harmison, England's supposed strike bowler. In a match which saw Zaheer Khan, the leader of India's attack, send down 48 overs, Harmison delivered only 21 - and just six yesterday when the Test was being won an lost.

England insisted he was fully fit, despite earlier concerns about a twisted knee and a tight hamstring, but Pietersen seldom looked in his direction.

And with Jimmy Anderson only marginally more active it soon became a case of 'if Flintoff cannot do the job, nobody will.'

And nobody did.