After India’s 5-wicket loss to England at Headingley, captain Shubman Gill didn’t shy away from accepting his side’s shortcomings. Despite posting massive totals in both innings — 471 and 364 — India’s fielding lapses and a fragile lower order came back to bite them. Speaking to the post match presentation, Gill, who scored a sublime 147 in the first innings, admitted,
“A brilliant Test, we had our chances. Drop catches, lower not contributing cost us.”
India were cruising at 430/4 in the first innings before losing their last six wickets for just 41 runs. England seized momentum from there and built a strong reply of 465. Reflecting on it, Gill said,
"Yesterday, we were thinking of giving them 430, but our last wickets fell for 25. Even today, I thought we had our chances after the brilliant first wicket. Didn’t go to hand.”
Read also: Watch: Yashasvi Jaiswal Dances After Costly Drops Help England Win Test
"Young Team, Learning Phase" – Shubman Gill Optimistic Despite Loss
India’s poor fielding, including four dropped catches by Yashasvi Jaiswal, allowed England batters like Duckett and Root to settle in deep. Gill added,
“We spoke about the first-innings collapse. Happens, we have to rectify that going forward. Chances don’t come easy on wickets like this, but we have a young team. Learning one. Hope to improve that.”
He credited the bowlers for their early control but acknowledged the difficulty once the ball lost its shine.
“The first session, we bowled spot-on. Didn’t give away runs, but it’s hard to stop runs once it gets old. Have to keep taking wickets when the ball got soft.”
Praising Ravindra Jadeja’s spell, Gill said,
“Jadeja bowled brilliantly, created chances, had a pop-up Rishabh didn’t see. Happens.”
On Jasprit Bumrah’s future appearances, Gill concluded,
“It’s decided game-by-game. Once we’re close to the next game after a long break, we’ll see.”
