Batting Collapses and Dropped Catches Cost India Despite Pant's Centuries: Gambhir Defends Lower Order After Test Loss

By Kaushik Rangarajan

India's campaign at Headingley concluded in defeat on the fifth day, as England successfully chased down a target of 371 runs. Despite periods of dominance, India failed to capitalize, succumbing to their seventh loss in nine Test matches.

Indian fielders miss key catches. © Getty

The Indian team amassed 835 runs, featuring five centuries, including Rishabh Pant's centuries in both innings. However, two batting collapses proved decisive.

In the first innings, India lost 7 wickets for 41 runs, negating their advantage after winning the toss and allowing England to close the gap. A second collapse saw them lose 6 for 31, leaving them with a vulnerable target of 371.

Shubman Gill, who marked his captaincy debut with a century, revealed that the team aimed for a target of approximately 435. Head coach Gautam Gambhir believed the game's momentum shifted earlier, stating that a first-innings score of 570-580 would have secured India's dominance.

Gambhir defended the lower order, despite their struggles. Shardul Thakur, selected for his all-round abilities, was dismissed playing rash shots in both innings. Prasidh Krishna fell attempting a slog sweep while partnering with the experienced Ravindra Jadeja.

"It's not that they weren't applying themselves. Sometimes people fail. And that's okay," Gambhir said. "They were disappointed, because they knew we had the opportunity. It's not like they're not working hard in the nets. Even proper batters fail. Hopefully they'll learn, and hopefully we'll get better performances from our tail. And that is not the only reason we lost the Test match."

Another significant factor in India's defeat was their poor catching. They dropped seven catches, with Yashasvi Jaiswal being a repeat offender. Ben Duckett, dropped on 97, went on to score 149, significantly impacting the match. Gill acknowledged the need for improved standards, particularly in the slip cordon.

"Chances don't come easy, especially on wickets like these, and we dropped quite a few catches. But I think we have got a young team, still a learning one, and hopefully, in the next matches, we'll be able to improve on those aspects," Gill stated.

Despite the team's youth, Gambhir refused to attribute the loss solely to inexperience. "Every defeat is bad. It's not about a young team or an experienced team. It's an Indian team... A young team is not an excuse... We will turn up every Test match thinking that we can win the test match and win the series."

Gambhir also confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah would only participate in two more Test matches, as part of a pre-arranged plan to manage his workload. The specific matches are yet to be decided.

"[Even without Bumrah] we absolutely have the bowling attack [to compete]. We believe in them. We trust in them... We saw in this Test match as well that for the first four days, even on day five, we were in a position where we could have won the Test match. We believe and we trust that these boys will deliver for us."