Transitional India have only themselves to blame for Headingley loss

An unlikely victory for Ben Stokes’ England cricket team on day five of the first Test at Headingley has reaffirmed Bazball’s penchant for achieving the at times unthinkable. But in truth, this Test was more about India letting England off the hook at critical junctures and lacking the desire to grab opportunities from where they could bury their opponents. 

In a new era sans Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin and led by a 25-year-old with next to no first-class leadership experience, this Indian team was expected to be under the pump against England. And yet they had moments where they were on top but failed to stay there. 

You could look at several passages of play where India undid the good work of their five individual Test centurions at Headingley. They closed day one on 359/3 and were 440/3 when Gill fell became the fourth wicket to fall. A collapse of 7/41 meant India finished with 471 instead of the 550 they should have managed. 

When England batted, three of their top five were dropped and Harry Brook was given a massive slice of luck on 0 when Jasprit Bumrah over-stepped during the last over of day two. Brook got a couple other lives during his innings of 99, which helped England come just six runs short of drawing level with India’s 471. 

India’s second innings saw KL Rahul score a fine century and Rishabh Pant become the second Test wicketkeeper to score twin centuries in a match. But once again, once the centurions were dismissed it was all over in a flash. India lost 5/16 and ultimately 6/31 to be bowled out for 364, thus setting England a target of 371. 

India had five centurions and ended up losing the match, which is the first time in Test history that his has happened to a team. Their fielders shelled six catches, missed two other chances and their talisman, Bumrah, bowled a no-ball at a time to give Brook a life. You don’t win much by committing such errors. 

In England, against this mercurial team, you need to be steely. You cannot budge an inch, for these Bazballers will come hard at you. Too often India’s premature celebrations, such as when Bumrah dismissed Brook late on day two only for the replays to show he overstepped, or when Mohammed Siraj won an lbw shout which was quickly overturned when DRS showed the ball missing leg stump, were quickly followed by periods of drooped shoulder and cranky expressions.

On day five, as England marched towards their target of 371, there were times Gill and his team-mates seemed bereft of ideas, as if they were just waiting for the Englishmen to make mistakes. Of the five wickets to fall on day five, only Prasidh Krishna’s dismissal of Ollie Pope was a good delivery. 

Zak Crawley threw his bat at a full ball without footwork. Ben Duckett, on 149, chased a wide half-volley from Shardul Thakur and found the man at cover. Next ball, Brook flicked a wide ball down the pads and tickled a catch to Pant. Stokes was hell-bent on reverse-sweeping Ravindra Jadeja and paid the price with a top-edge. 

Krishna is raw at Test level, manages to take wickets, but is too often erratic and expensive. He went at 6.28 run per over in the Test and did not bowl a maiden in the 35 overs sent down. Siraj, in his 37th Test match, showed how he has failed to evolve from the bowler who starred in his debut series in Australia five years ago. Full marks for being energetic and animated, but when will Siraj learn that line and length is what gets you success? 

Playing his first Test since December 2023, Shardul was not called on until the 40th over of England’s first innings and immediately looked pedestrian. He bowled just 16 overs in the match, went for 5.56 per over and both times was out playing loose shots outside off stump during the two collapses. Jadeja, the most experienced member of this squad, was not expected to play much of a role given the conditions and found some turn on day five. But overall, his lack of impact in this match points to a fading star. 

And thus, a Test match that began so well for India and especially Gill, who marked his captaincy debut with a first century in a SENA country, ended in defeat to be 0-1 down in the series. All is not gloomy, for India showed that England can be put under pressure. But the dramatic collapses, the sheer lack of enthusiasm from the lower order, the reactionary field placings from Gill, the dreadful catching and the lack of support for Bumrah are issues India will have to discuss before the second Test. Otherwise this series could be a whole lot worse.