Gambhir Defends India's Tailenders After Test Collapse, Cites Missed Catches as Key Factor

Gambhir Stands Behind India's Lower Order Despite Test Collapse

India's campaign at Headingley concluded in defeat on the fifth day, as England chased down a target of 371 with relative ease. Despite moments of control, India failed to capitalize, resulting in their seventh loss in the last nine Tests. The defeat was particularly disheartening, considering India's strong position throughout the match.

The team amassed 835 runs, with five players achieving centuries, including Rishabh Pant who scored a century in each innings. However, two batting collapses proved to be their undoing.

India suffered a loss of 7 wickets for 41 runs in the first innings and 6 for 31 in the second. The first collapse prevented India from establishing a significant lead after winning the toss, allowing England to stay competitive. The second collapse put India on the back foot, defending a chaseable target that England ultimately conquered.

India dropped crucial catches throughout the Test match on a surface that didn't offer a lot of help. © Getty

Shubman Gill, who marked his captaincy debut with a century, mentioned that the team aimed for a target of approximately 435 runs. Head coach Gautam Gambhir believed that the turning point occurred earlier, stating that a first-innings total of 570 or 580 would have allowed India to dominate.

Gambhir defended the lower order's performance, despite their dismissals while attempting aggressive shots. Shardul Thakur, selected as an all-rounder, fell to expansive drives, and Prasidh Krishna was out attempting a slog sweep.

"It's not that they weren't applying themselves. Sometimes people fail. And that's okay," Gambhir explained. "They were more disappointed than anyone, 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. That is not the only reason we lost the Test match."

Another crucial factor in India's defeat was their subpar catching. They dropped seven catches, with Yashasvi Jaiswal being a repeat offender. Ben Duckett, who was dropped on 97, went on to score 149, significantly impacting the match. Gill acknowledged the need for improvement in this area.

"Yes, that was something that we spoke about," Gill said. "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."

Despite the team's youth, Gambhir dismissed it as an excuse. "Every defeat is bad. It's not about a young team or an experienced team. It's an Indian team. We take pride in winning each and every game for our country. 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."

The head coach also confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah would play only two more Test matches, adhering to a pre-series workload management plan. The specific matches are yet to be decided. "For us to manage his workload is more important because there's a lot of cricket going forward and we know what he brings on the table as well... We absolutely have the bowling attack [to compete]. We believe in them."