Despite posting a formidable target of 371 runs, India slumped to a five-wicket loss on the final day, allowing England to chase down the total with remarkable ease
Shubman Gill at a practice session (Pic: BCCI)
Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar did not hold back in his criticism of the Shubman Gill-led Indian side following their crushing defeat in the first Test against England at Headingley. Despite posting a formidable target of 371 runs, India slumped to a five-wicket loss on the final day, allowing England to chase down the total with remarkable ease.
With stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma now retired, the youthful Indian team under Gill’s leadership appeared promising on paper but failed to execute in crucial moments. The defeat felt even bigger in magnitude as five Indian batters, including the skipper himself, registered centuries, yet the team still fell short.
India’s twin batting collapses in both innings proved costly. From a dominant 430/3, the first innings crumbled to 471 all out. The second innings followed a similar trajectory, collapsing from 333/4 to 364. These sudden breakdowns left the door ajar for England, who seized the opportunity.
Adding to India’s woes was a string of missed chances in the field. The most significant came when Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped Ben Duckett on 97 on the final day. Duckett went on to make 149, that decisively swung the match in England’s favour.
"Full credit to England," Gavaskar said on Sony Sports. "Despite India having five centurions, they seemed to have that confidence. That is what made them take the final wickets. So that is where India also missed out because those extra runs could have made the difference."
Gavaskar was also scathing in his assessment of India’s fielding and lower-order contributions. "As far as the fielding was concerned, it's just not the catches, but the outfielding was pretty ordinary. Not Test class. Hopefully, lessons have been learned," he remarked.
India’s bowling also failed to deliver in the crucial final innings. Jasprit Bumrah impressed early with a 5/83 haul in the first innings but went wicketless during England’s successful chase. Ravindra Jadeja, expected to be a key threat on a deteriorating fifth-day surface, managed just 1/104. Ben Duckett neutralised him with an array of reverse sweeps, even launching a six over deep cover.
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar was blunt in his criticism of Jadeja: "I'm going to be critical of Jadeja because this is a final-day pitch. There was rough for him to play with, and in the end, I know there were a couple of chances there, but we have to expect more from Jadeja."
India head coach Gautam Gambhir, however, chose to shield the tailenders from blame. "I think they were more disappointed than anyone, because they knew we had the opportunity," said Gambhir. "Hopefully we'll get better performances from our tail," he concluded.
(With AFP inputs)
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