Where India went wrong in 1st Test at Headingley and why they lost

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6 hours ago

India suffered a heartbreaking loss in the first Test against England at Headingley, despite scoring five centuries. England chased down 371 in the fourth innings to win by five wickets on the final day. We analyse where India went wrong and the key reasons behind their defeat. read more
India lost the first Test of the five-match series against England at Headingley, Leeds on Tuesday. The contest turned out to be a dramatic and historic game. England chased down 371 runs in the final innings to win by five wickets. This is the second-highest run chase ever in England and the highest in Headingley.
England opener Ben Duckett played a brilliant knock of 149 runs in the final innings to help his team chase down the target. He was well supported by his opening partner Zak Crawley, who scored a crucial 65 runs. Joe Root finished things off with an unbeaten half-century batting alongside Ben Stokes (33) and Jamie Smith (44 not out).
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While India had many moments of dominance in the match, several mistakes across all five days ended up costing them the game.
Two big batting collapses cost India dearly
India were in brilliant positions in both innings but threw it all away with sudden collapses . In the first innings, India were 430/3 with centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Rishabh Pant. A total close to 600 looked possible. But instead, India collapsed to 471 all out, losing 7 wickets for just 41 runs. The lower order failed to contribute as always.
On the other hand, the England tail made some valuable contributions with the bat as they added 71 runs in their first innings to help their side cancel out India's massive score. They basically put the middle and Indian lower order to shame.
The second innings was no different for this Indian side. Rishabh Pant scored another century and KL Rahul got a ton as well. India were 333/5 at one point and seemed on track for a lead of 400-plus. But they lost their last 5 wickets for just 31 runs and were bowled out for 364. This meant India didn't have enough runs on the board to challenge England on the final day.
Bowlers failed to deliver when it mattered
Indian ace Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets in the first innings and bowled with great control. He didn't receive much support from the other bowlers until at least Day 3. In the second innings, he went wicketless as England's openers played him out carefully, and once again, the other bowlers didn't step up until lunch on the final day.
Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur took two wickets each after the rain delay during the second session on Day 5, but the damage was already done. England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley had put on a 188-run stand, laying a strong foundation for the chase.
India's bowling attack lacked energy on the final day and failed to create pressure. During the first session, it didn't even look like they were bowling to take wickets. Bumrah's limited availability for the series has already been confirmed by both the pacer and the team management. If India's bowling is struggling with him in the side, the challenge will be even bigger without him.
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Poor fielding and dropped catches
India were very poor in the field. They dropped as many as seven catches in the match, including five in England's first innings alone. This is their worst fielding performance since 2019. Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped the most number of catches in this game. At one point, it almost looked like the ball was deliberately going towards Jaiswal because it knew he would drop it.
Even Rishabh Pant, Sai Sudharsan, and Ravindra Jadeja, of all people, were guilty of dropping catches. They all dropped one catch each, while four were missed by Jaiswal, of which three came off Bumrah's bowling.
Questions over Shubman Gill's captaincy
Shubman Gill's leadership in his first Test as captain is also under the scanner. Despite being the leader, field changes were being made by other players like Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. He looked under pressure on the field, especially when England batters were scoring all around the park.
Gill had said before the start of the first Test that his primary focus would be on batting, as it is his main role in the team. He backed that up with a fine century in the first innings. However, he missed a trick with his captaincy at Headingley, and that turned out to be one of the reasons behind India's loss.
Having said that, this Gill-led young India side still has a chance to make a comeback in the series. They have an eight-day break before the next Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, starting from 2 July onwards. If they make some adjustments to their lineup and playing style, they have the ability to upset any team on any given day, glimpses of which were clearly visible in Leeds.
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