Reasons Behind India’s Loss to England in First Test
India started its Test series tour in England post-retirement of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin, the stalwarts of Indian cricket, with a defeat. The team lost to The Three Lions in the first Test of the five-match Test series at Headingley, Leeds. In what should have been a promising start for India under its new Test captain Shubman Gill, it resulted in a disappointment for the team to give England a historic chase.
Opener Ben Duckett led the hosts with a stunning 149-run performance as they chased down the 371-run fourth innings target with five wickets remaining. His opening partner, Zak Crawley, who has been under fire after the New Zealand Test series, also chipped in with an untroubled 65, to take control of the game.
Additionally, Joe Root smashed an unbeaten half-century to power England to a 1-0 lead in the series. It was the second-highest fourth-innings chase in Test cricket by England. On the other hand, the visitors became the first team to lose a Test match despite recording five individual centuries.
So, what was the reason behind India’s disappointing loss? How did the team surrender their advantages on several occasions? Let's have a look.
Reasons Behind India’s Loss to England in First Test
The defeat can be attributed to a multitude of factors including the lower-order batting collapses, missing opportunities, fielding lapses and bowling errors. This resulted in causing them to lose momentum and intensity and ultimately failed to apply pressure on the opponents.
One of the biggest reasons was critical fielding errors in the crucial moments of the game. The team missed multiple key catches in the hosts’ first innings, including those of Duckett and Ollie Pope, who were instrumental for England in their win. It was India’s highest number of missed chances in the last five years. The lackadaisical mistakes in the fielding, in particular, cost India dearly in the first match of Gill’s captaincy.
India had an advantage in both innings, with 430/3 in the first and 333/4 in the second, before they collapsed twice. The visitors lost seven wickets for 41 runs and later six wickets for 31, resulting in lower-order failures.
Another mistake was the failure of other bowlers who couldn't create pressure while Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets in the first innings. However, went wicketless in the second with little assistance from the other bowlers. The newly appointed captain looked helpless in a few moments, which he'll learn with more experience in future.
However, there is no time to cling to the defeat as India will play the second Test match starting July 2nd at Edgbaston stadium in Birmingham. India needs to up their game and make adjustments in the team, particularly in the bowling aspect. The Indian side will be without their star bowler, Bumrah, who, due to load management, will not play in the upcoming Test.
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