Asymmetry in hexagonal crystal structure makes the occurrence of slip strongly dependent on the texture of sample. In titanium, which has a c/a ratio less than ideal, slip occurs preferentially on prismatic slip system. However other slip systems may get activated depending on the resolved shear stresses. In this paper we present results from plane strain compression experiments where the same area of the sample was imaged before and after deformation to document changes in microstructure. We then compare these results with a simple calculation of plastic strain based on activation of various slip systems depending on their respective critical resolved shear stresses. We show that incorporation of a strain rate dependent hardening parameter provides a reasonable match with the experimentally observed deformation behaviour of various grain orientations. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.