Lower-order resistance impresses Gill despite the men in blue ending up on the losing side on Day 5 at Lords.
Gill ‘extremely proud’ of India’s lower-order fight.
During the exciting last day of the Lord’s Test, India skipper Shubman Gill was proud of his team’s tenacity.
Just before noon, India’s lower-order was reduced to 82 for 7, but they put up a fierce fight to force the match into the final session. In the end, India lost by 22 runs, and England won the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-1.
“I’m extremely proud, this is as close as a Test match can get,” Gill said at the post-match presentation. “Five days of hard-fought cricket, comes down to the last session, last wicket. I’m extremely proud.”
Ravindra Jadeja was left stranded on 61 when Shoaib Bashir removed Mohammed Siraj to complete the victory. This courageous vigil lasted 181 deliveries, with his command of the lower order being the most notable feature. He wore 23 with Siraj, 35 with Jasprit Bumrah, and 30 with Nitish Kumar Reddy.
“He’s very experienced,” Gill said of Jadeja. “We didn’t want to give him any message. He was batting brilliantly with the tail. Wanted him and the tail to bat as long as possible.”
Gill said India had let themselves down late on the fourth day when they lost three quick wickets – Karun Nair, Gill himself and nightwatcher Akash Deep – in a dramatic last half-hour, slipping from 42 for 1 to 58 for 4. Gill felt that one “50-run partnership” from the top order could have helped them knock off the target.
“The last one hour that we played [on day four], I think we could have applied ourselves a bit better, especially the last two wickets that fell,” Gill said. “Even this morning, the way they came up with a plan, we were hoping for one 50-run partnership, if we got it from the top order, it would’ve been easy for us.”