India became the first team to lose a Test match despite smashing five centuries against England at Leeds mainly because its lower order slumped in both innings
India players during Day Five of the first Test against England in Leeds on Tuesday. Pic/Getty Images
The Headingley Test was a statistician’s delight with numerous records being set, but it is the one unwanted record they stacked up that will haunt India for a long time.
For the first time in the long history of the five-day game, a team that threw up five centuries ended up on the losing side. India had four men who made hundreds — Rishabh Pant joined Andy Flower as the only wicketkeepers with twin centuries in the same Test — but that counted for little as England’s collective might and their propensity to grab key moments translated to a five-wicket victory and a 1-0 lead with four to play.
Gautam Gambhir, the head coach, confirmed on Tuesday night, an hour after Jamie Smith hit the winning six, that Jasprit Bumrah had only two more matches left in him over the next six weeks. Bumrah was one of the star performers alongside batting heroes Shubman Gill, in his first Test as captain, Yashasvi Jaiswal and the admirable KL Rahul, though even he was powerless in preventing England from mounting a successful chase of 371 with almost ridiculous ease.
Bumrah is only human
Bumrah endured a rare wicketless spell in the English second innings — he is human after all — and immediately, the aftereffects were visible, triggering fears of what will be in store in the two matches in which he won’t figure. Equally worrying was how there was no contribution from India’s lower order in both innings, and the monotonous regularity with which catches were put down.
Particularly disappointing were the five dropped catches, with Jaiswal alone involved in three misdemeanours. The opener generally has a safe pair of hands and has taken several stunners at gully, but since the second half of the Australian series towards the end of last year, he has shelled his fair share, including Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne in the second innings of the penultimate Test at the MCG. Australia were 99 for six, ahead by 204, when Labuschagne received the gift. They rallied to reach 234, putting the match out of India’s reach.
Jaiswal drops ’em
At Headingley, Jaiswal dropped Ollie Pope on 60 and Harry Brook on 83 in the first innings; the former made 106, the latter 99. In the second innings, he reprieved Ben Duckett on 97 and he punished India with 149. None of these catches was beyond straightforward. Coupled with Ravindra Jadeja’s lifeline to Duckett in the first innings (he was 15 and finished with 62), it completed a woeful tale of unforced errors that compounded the lack of runs from the
lower order.
India suffered collapses of seven for 41 and six for 31 respectively in the two innings, which contrasted starkly with England’s last five wickets realising 189 in the first dig. No side, not even one with five hundreds in a game and the world’s best bowler, can overcome these setbacks. For all their spunk, India are already staring at a long, harsh, unforgiving English summer.
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