IND vs ENG Test: 'Pushed into deep sea, but he'll swim'- Gautam Gambhir on Shubman Gill's first Test as captain
India Test captain
faced a challenging start to his leadership career as England secured a five-wicket victory in the series opener at Headingley, despite India's dominant position for most of the match.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
Head coach
called for patience with the young captain while praising his performance, particularly his century in the first innings.
India seemed poised for their first victory at Headingley since 2002 during day four, but a second tail-end collapse and England's successful chase turned the tide against them.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
The match marked the beginning of a new era for India without veteran players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, with Gill becoming India's youngest Test captain.
"Look, first Test match, obviously, there are nerves. It's a great honour. As he's already mentioned, captaining the Test side, not many people get that opportunity, and he was phenomenal. More importantly, I think the way he batted in the first inning, obviously, I'm sure he would have had his own nerves, being the captain for the first time, and then getting a hundred," Gambhir said at the post-match press conference.
Gautam Gambhir Explosive Press Conference: On Drop Catches, Batting Collapse, Shubman Gill Captaincy
"So, everything that it takes for him to be a successful captain, we've got to just give him time. We're still very early days, and he's only the captain for the first time. I'm sure he's going to get better. And these are tough places to captain. It's like pushing someone into the deep sea, and I'm sure he's going to come out as a proper professional," Gambhir added.
Gill showcased his batting prowess in the first innings, forming a substantial 195-run partnership with vice-captain
.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
His impressive innings of 147 runs from 227 balls ended when he hit the ball to Josh Tongue at deep square while attempting to reach his 150.
Quiz:
In the second innings, Gill managed only 8 runs from 16 balls before being bowled.
India's batting performance was bolstered by centuries from
and Pant, helping the team reach a total of 364.
Chasing a target of 371 runs, England's victory was secured through Ben Duckett's aggressive 149 and Joe Root's unbeaten 53, achieving their second-highest chase in Test cricket history.
Despite the defeat, Gambhir remained supportive of Gill's leadership potential, emphasizing the need for time and patience as the young captain develops in his role.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
19 minutes ago
- News18
Gautam Gambhir Defends Listless India Bowlers: 'Like Throwing Them In The Sea'
Last Updated: Gautam Gambhir backed his bowling unit and has asked to not judge the inexperienced pace attack. India head coach Gautam Gambhir has pointed out the lack of experience in the Indian pace attack barring Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj as the reason behind their modest returns in the five-wicket defeat to England in the first Test at Headingley. Bumrah was the only saving grace for India among the bowlers as others around him failed to make any significant impact allowing England to comfortably chase a target of 371 in Leeds to take 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series on Tuesday. 'We will have to give them time. Earlier, we used to have four fast bowlers in the squad with an experience of more than 40 Tests. It doesn't make such a big impact in one-day or T20 matches, but when you go to Australia, England, or South Africa for Tests, experience matters. It is like throwing them in the sea," Gambhir told reporters after the match. 'These are early days. If we start judging our bowlers after every Test, how will we develop a bowling attack? Outside Bumrah and Siraj, we don't have that much experience, but they (the others) have quality, which is why they are in this dressing room. But we have got to keep backing them because it's not about one tour. It's about building a fast-bowler battery that can serve India for a long time in Test cricketm" he added. Allrounder Shardul Thakur bowled 16 overs during the match with just six of them in England's first innings. Gambhir defended the ploy. 'Sometimes captain goes with his instincts and Ravindra Jadeja gave us control in first innings, that was important and we could rotate our three pacers at other end," he said. 'We know what is Shardul's quality and that is why he is playing for India and is in the dressing room. Just because he is the fourth seamer does not necessarily mean that he has to be brought ahead of a spinner. A captain went by his instinct and depending on surface we were playing," he added. Gambhir said 'every defeat is bad" and it's impact doesn't change based on whether the team is young or experienced. 'Every defeat is bad. Doesn't matter if its young team or experienced team. It's an Indian team. It is not an excuse for defeat as we represent 140 crore Indians," he said.
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
Sanjay Manjrekar compares Shubman Gill with Virat Kohli after defeat against England in first Test, says 'he would have been at it'
Sanjay Manjrekar questioned Shubman Gill's defensive approach. New Delhi: Shubman Gill defensive tactic in the fifth-day of the first India vs England Test attracted a lot of criticism as England managed to produce a record second-highest successful run chase to begin the series with a win. During his first Test match with India as a captain, Gill was criticized as being overreactive and positioning fields that trailed the ball, which in turn enabled England to score 371 with still five wickets intact. 'Most people felt Shubman Gill went too defensive. But I think he was trying to trap England by cutting off boundaries, hoping the wickets would come eventually,' said former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar on JioHotstar. Day 5 started with dark skies and a defensive outfield positioning that saw Gill place too many men in the field. Manjrekar also said that Virat Kohli would never have tried such an idea to leave the opposition batters easily and not get threatened by the close-in fielders. 'I hate to bring Virat Kohli as a comparison as Shubman Gill is a young captain but he would not have put such a defensive field. That's different from someone like Virat Kohli, who might say: We have enough runs, I'll get you all out before Tea. Whether he would have gotten wickets with an attacking field is guaranteed ut he would have been at it,' Manjrekar said. The former India batter admitted that Gill did not have such bowling power as Kohli had once at his disposal, and the bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma were at their best. 'Gill doesn't have the same seam attack as England—though they don't have Bumrah but English team has more all-round options. Even with Jadeja, I felt India should've started with a standard field rather than pre-empting reverse sweeps. You want to start with attacking intent—even if only for a few overs—before going defensive. That said, I don't want to be overly critical of Shubman. He's a new captain, and we should be understanding of that,' he added. Driven by the superb 188-opening stand between Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, the hosts displayed an enhanced manifestation of their signature Bazball approach. Duckett was lucky to survive on 97 when Yashasvi Jaiswl dropped a catch and Crawley had two chances taken out by Bumrah. But there was no missed chance in England as Root composed himself beautifully and Smith relied on the strokeplay as the hope of an Indian miracle was shuttered. It was the 12 th successful chase England have completed in their last 18 Tests under coach Brendon McCullum, a style of more refined aggression that should not be confused with reckless abandon. It also became the third Test match in the history to ever produce 350 runs in both innings and it made the game dramatic and exciting throughout its duration.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
‘Managing his workload is important': Gambhir says India yet to decide Jasprit Bumrah's remaining two Tests
A new-look India under Shubman Gill started their World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle with a five-wicket loss against England in the first Anderson-Tendulkar Test at Headingley in Leeds on Tuesday. After edging out England in the first innings by taking a slender 6-run lead, India set a steep target of 371, which the home side chased comfortably in just 82 overs with five wickets to spare. Indian batsmen hit five centuries in addition to Jasprit Bumrah's five-wicket haul in the first innings, but ended up losing the Test. This has been the first instance in the history of Test cricket where a team has lost the match after scoring five centuries. The biggest differentiator between the two sides was the fielding. Team India dropped eight clear chances and one half chance in addition to a missed run-out opportunity, which eventually cost them the game. Out of these, Yashasvi Jaiswal alone dropped four catches in two innings. Head coach Gautam Gambhir has defended his side and refused to single out any player to put the blame on or the failure of any single department for the defeat. 'I won't single out anyone for defeat,' Gambhir said in the post-match press conference after the loss. 'The first thing is that catches get dropped. The best fielders drop catches. The lower-order batting was a bit disappointing. If we had made 600 in the first innings, we could have dominated. Hopefully we will learn in the second Test (in Birmingham),' he said. 'But that is not the only reason we lost. Everyone wants to contribute and I won't single out anyone. We lose together and win together,' added Gambhir. Coach Gambhir also confirmed that the loss will not change the fact that Bumrah will play only two more Tests during this tour. 'To manage his workload is more important. There's a lot of cricket going forward, and we know what he brings to the table. Before we came on this tour, it was already decided that he was going to play three Test matches. We haven't decided which two other Tests he's going to play,' he said. Gill, who was leading India for the first time, started confidently as a batter. He scored a fine 147 in the first innings but looked under pressure as a captain in the field. Gambhir urged patience towards Gill. 'These are tough places to captain. It's like pushing someone into the deep sea, and I am sure he is going to come out as a proper professional. Look, first Test match, obviously, there are nerves. It's a great honour. As he's already mentioned, captain of the Test side-not many people get that opportunity and he was phenomenal,' said Gambhir.
