"When India Lose, They Panic": Shubman Gill, Gautam Gambhir Sent Big Message For 4th Test
"One thing I've noticed - when India lose, they panic. When they win, they stick with the same XI. After losing the first Test, they made 2-3 changes. But after winning in Birmingham, only (Jasprit) Bumrah came in - no other changes. That's been the pattern," Kaif told IANS.
"Even after losing the third Test, I believe they should back the same team going into Manchester. Karun Nair has been getting starts - 30s and 40s - but not converting. Still, he deserves another opportunity. This is a test for both Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir. After a close loss, will they panic and make changes? Or will they trust the players?" he added.
India lost the opening Test to England by 5 wickets. The Shubman Gill-led side then went on to win the second game by 336 runs. The third Test was a neck-and-neck contest which the Ben Stokes and Co. won by a narrow margin of 22 runs.
"India dominated for 12-13 out of the last 15 days. They played solid cricket - both with the bat and the ball. When this team landed in England, most people predicted a 0-4 or 1-4 defeat, but they've surprised everyone," said Kaif.
"Without Kohli, Rohit, Shami, and Ashwin, this young team stood up and delivered. They lost two close matches - Headingley was in India's grasp, and so was the final Test while chasing 193. Shubman Gill has led from the front - as captain and as a batsman. There were doubts about his ability to perform in English conditions, but he answered with the bat. With a bit of luck, India could've won all three Tests," he added.
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Indian Express
8 minutes ago
- Indian Express
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In a partnership of epic proportions, Shubman and Rahul compiled an unbeaten 174, also India's total at stumps to revive a Test that looked lost and a series that seemed over. 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟒: 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐃𝐮𝐨 🤜🤛#KLRahul (87* off 210) and #ShubmanGill (78* off 167) stood strong on Day 4, digging India out of early trouble with a composed and crucial partnership under pressure 🔥 Catch the HIGHLIGHTS of Day 4 ➡ 👉… — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 26, 2025 Trailing by 311 runs and 0/2, the Test seemed irredeemable. Most teams would have given up, most captains would have thrown in the towel but not this one. After playing for two full sessions, facing 317 balls, Shubman (87) and Rahul (78) had given hope when all seemed lost. This is shaping into a partnership that can be compared to the Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman partnership of 2001. In case India can stick around for one more day, this could go down as a Test recovery for ages. There are just two possible results – 'the more likely' England win and after the solid Rahul-Shubman show, the 'not quite impossible' India draw. India has ensured this remains an unputdownable series. Rains are expected on the final day of the Test but so will be an overcast sky. There have been no easy days on this tour and they come with the promise of exciting cricket. Rahul with his methodical play and Test match technique could be expected to play controlled cricket but Shubman's inning came as a refreshing surprise for its sheer tenacity – a rare virtue in Indian cricket. After spending every ounce of his energy trying to figure out ways to get the English batsmen out for the team, Shubman now with a bat in hand had to fight an individual battle. In the last three innings – twice at Lord's and in the first innings here – he has gotten out trying to dead-bat or leave the balls coming into him. 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KL 🤝 GILL A batting masterclass from @klrahul & @ShubmanGill bails #TeamIndia out of early trouble! 💪 The highest 3rd-wicket partnership of the series! 🙌🏻#ENGvIND 👉 4th TEST, DAY 4 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar 👉 — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 26, 2025 From both the ends, England would attack Shubman with a barrage of nipbackers. Woakes with the talent of moving the ball in the air and Jofra Archer with the ability to make the ball come in sharply seemed close to wickets and were difficult to deal with. An early end to the game, an innings defeat to India on Day 4 was the most predicted outcome of this Test. In Jofra's second over, there were a couple of big appeals. First a Jofra late swinger would hit Gill on his boot, once again not sure about the stride forward. The skipper would survive as even technology was inconclusive. In the same over there was another appeal, once again Shubman was beaten on the front foot, since the ball was moving in too sharply they would avoid taking the DRS. It was in this crunch situation, while handling a personal and team crisis, that Shubman found a way to reset his batting technique, got hold of some spanner to tighten a few screws and grease some joints. Almost miraculously, he looked like a different batsman. There was the smooth transfer of weight and there was surety in his stride. This was a man refusing to give in, and a batsman who when troubled, not panicking but delving deep in the recesses of the mind to find a way to survive. He also was playing much straighter now. There were a couple of straight drives – one off Woakes and the other off Brydon Carse – that went racing to the sight screen from both sides of the stumps. On the second one, the graceful stroke-maker held his pose. This was a signal that he had dealt with that tough period of play. When on 48, luck too smiled on the brave captain. In a minor glitch in concentration, the India No.4 would try to over-reach for a Carse ball in the channel. He would edge to Liam Dawson at point, the ball would hit his hand but he couldn't catch it. 'Every batsman, at some stage of their life, changes the way they bat in Test cricket. Subman seems to be doing that brilliantly in England,' India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said. While Shubman was dealing with his demons, Rahul was a picture of composure. He was playing close to the body, meeting the ball late and moving away from the short balls. After the outside the off-stump bowling didn't give results, Stokes moved his troops on the other side of the field. For most of the final session, England bowled short balls on the body and placed four fielders square and behind the wicket. Rahul negated the ploy solidly. He wouldn't go for the pull but would bring the ball down. Now it was Stokes' turn to get frustrated. 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India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
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Time of India
an hour ago
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