IND vs ENG: Five Reasons Why India Lost First Test against England

Shubman Gill’s first outing as India’s Test captain failed to get off to a winning start. Despite five centuries during the opening game against England, India surrendered their advantage on multiple occasions, eventually losing by 5 wickets. With no Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the signs of a transition in Indian Test cricket were visible. After first innings total of 471, India should have never let the advantage slip away but the team stumbled through repeated collapses, dropped catches, and poor bowling in the final innings. England went on to chase down a mammoth 371 in the fourth innings.

Here are five major reasons for India’s loss-

Lower-Middle Order Collapses
India’s top order impressed during both innings with the bat. In the first innings, they were 430/3 at one stage with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Shubman Gill scoring centuries. But from there, a collapse saw them lose their final seven wickets for just 41 runs. What looked like a potential 600-run total ended at 471.
In the second innings again, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul had the visitors flying high at 333/5, but the middle and lower order couldn’t consolidate the advantage. At one stage, India were 333/4 but added only 31 runs from there. While there were a lot of expectations from Debutant Sai Sudharsan and a returning Karun Nair, both failed to make their opportunities count.

Inexperienced Captain
Two years of IPL leadership with the Gujarat Titans is all that Gill had in his CV, but the selectors and the Indian team management, headed by coach Gautam Gambhir decided to go ahead with the young man as captain. Although, Gill looked in superb touch with the bat but the same, however, did not reflect when it was his turn to marshal his troops on the field. He seemed bereft of ideas whenever there was a partnership. There was no visible ploy against any of the English batters. At the start of Day 5, his field placements were far too defensive, which allowed Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett to build a big partnership.

Too many Dropped Catches
India dropped multiple catches during both the innings and that cost them really big. India’s fielding was subpar across both innings and no one had a tougher outing than Yashasvi Jaiswal.  The young opener dropped four catches in the match, including a crucial one when Ben Duckett was on 97. Duckett went on to score a match winning 149  and India’s shoulders visibly dropped with every missed opportunity.
But it wasn’t just Jaiswal. The slips dropped chances, outfielders misjudged the ball, and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant was also not at his best behind the stumps. In a tight Test match on a fifth-day pitch, where moments often make the difference, India gave England too many lifelines.

Misfired bowling combination
With the ball, India’s bowlers struggled to impose themselves when it mattered most. The balance was off. While Bumrah was the stand out bowler in the first innings with a five-wicket haul, he went wicketless in the second. Siraj too couldn’t make an impact.
The exclusion of an extra pace option like Arshdeep Singh or a more attacking wrist-spinner left the attack feeling flat. Shardul did pick up some wickets in the second innings, but his bowling looked below par during remaining part of the match which has now brought about a big question mark on his inclusion. Prasidh looked rusty, and Jadeja did not look like picking up a wicket.

Over dependence on Jasprit Bumrah
Bumrah helped India stay ahead in the first innings with figures of 5/83. In the second innings, Team India was again dependent on Bumrah. But when team desperately needed breakthroughs, even he couldn’t penetrate a determined England top order.
Bumrah was handled with ease by England’s top order and it exposed just how dependent this attack still is on their talisman. When Bumrah clicks, India are in the game. When he doesn’t, things fall apart far too quickly.