Indian captain Shubman Gill give interview to the media after India’s defeat in the first Test against England.
He described the match as a fantastic contest, acknowledging that India had their moments but failed to capitalize. “It was a high-quality Test. We had our opportunities, but we let some slip — dropped catches and a lack of contribution from the lower-order cost us. Still, I’m proud of the boys; the effort was there,” he said.
Gill revealed that on the previous day, the team had plans to reach a total of around 430 and declare. “We were aiming for somewhere near 430 before a declaration, but unfortunately, the last six wickets only added about 20-25 runs. That’s always tough to recover from,” he admitted.
Reflecting on the game, he believed that even after England’s strong opening partnership, India were still in with a chance. “Despite their solid start today, I felt we had openings to get back into the game, but things didn’t go our way.”
On batting collapses, Gill acknowledged it was a concern the team had discussed. “It’s something we’ve talked about, but once you’re in the middle, the game can change quickly. It’s one of the key areas we need to fix going forward,” he stated.
He also spoke about the missed chances in the field. “On pitches like these, opportunities don’t come often. We did drop a few and that hurt us. But we have a young squad that’s still learning, and I’m confident we’ll improve in those departments as the series progresses.”
When asked if anything could have been done differently, Gill felt the team’s early bowling effort was on point. “I think we executed well in the first session, kept things tight and didn’t concede too many runs. But once the ball got older, it became harder to contain them. We needed regular wickets to stay in the game. Some edges didn’t carry or went wide — those things didn’t work in our favor. Credit to their batters, especially the openers — they really shifted the momentum.”
On Ravinder Jadeja’s performance on Day 5, Gill praised his effort. “ when he was bowling he created a few chances. There were some difficult ones that didn’t stick — Rishabh missed a couple, but that’s part of the game. You know not every half-chance gets taken.”
Regarding Jasprit Bumrah’s availability, Gill responded, “It’s something we’ll assess match by match. There’s a decent break before the next Test, so we’ll take a call closer to the game.”
