Shubman Gill upfront and honest after losing Leeds Test: Young team will improve

India Today

7 hours ago

Every new era in cricket needs a strong start—a solid first brick in the foundation. For Shubman Gill, that first Test as India's new red-ball captain ended in disappointment, as England chased down 371 in Leeds to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. But despite the setback, Gill remained composed in his post-match presentation, offering a candid assessment of where things went wrong for his team.advertisementIndia were not outplayed across all five days. In fact, for large parts of the game, they held the upper hand. Five different Indian batters notched up centuries—Gill himself, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, and a sensational twin hundreds by Rishabh Pant. But the problem lay in what happened between those moments of brilliance.ENG vs IND 1st Test Day 5: Highlights
In both innings, India collapsed dramatically after being in dominant positions. From 430/3 in the first innings, they lost their last seven wickets for just 41 runs. In the second innings, it was 287/3 at one point, but the final total read 364. The inability of the middle and lower order to capitalise proved costly.Speaking after the match, Gill acknowledged this pattern. He noted that India were in commanding positions in both innings but failed to finish strong. He admitted that they had to address the issue going into the second Test.advertisement"Yesterday, we were thinking we'd get to around 430–435 and then look to declare. But unfortunately, our last six wickets added only around 20–25 runs, which is never ideal. Even today, after their brilliant opening partnership, I felt we had our chances — things just didn't go our way in this match," Gill said.India's fielding also left much to be desired. The team dropped multiple catches across both innings—six in total—with Yashasvi Jaiswal putting down four himself. One of them came when Ben Duckett was on 97; he went on to score 149 and win the Player of the Match award.Gill did not shy away from addressing this. He admitted that the team needs to improve in the field and take their chances, especially on crucial final-day pitches where one missed opportunity can turn the game."While we dropped a few catches and our lower order didn't contribute as much as we would have liked, I'm still really proud of the overall effort we put in," Gill added.The loss was made tougher by the fact that England's 371-run chase was their second-highest successful fourth-innings pursuit in Test history—and the highest ever at Headingley. Zak Crawley and Duckett's 188-run opening stand set the tone, and India's bowlers, including star names like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, struggled to make breakthroughs.advertisementStill, Gill wasn't overly critical. He acknowledged that the side was young and learning, and believed they would improve with time. Despite the early loss, his leadership tone was mature, focused on growth rather than blame."Chances don't come easy, especially on wickets like this. And we did drop quite a few. But this is a young team — we're still learning. Hopefully, in the next matches, we'll be able to improve in those areas," he added.Gill's captaincy may not have started with a win, but his calm, clear-headed reflections gave a glimpse into his potential as a long-term leader. The road ahead is long—and for Gill and India, this may just be the tough lesson they needed to set the tone right.- Ends