The Indian cricket team would be in a state of shock after losing the Lord’s Test match. The Men in Blue were in complete control of the Test match till Day 4’s Afternoon session. Shubman Gill‘s unit once again made a mess out of a Test match, just like 1st Test match. Shubman Gill‘s form has been making headlines, but in the Lord’s he didn’t trouble scorers at all. Let’s look at the key take-aways for India’s 22 run defeat against England.
Shubman Gill’s downfall at Lord’s
The Indian batting sensation and the so-called ‘Next Superstar’ of cricket, Shubman Gill, had a forgettable Test match as a batter. Shubman Gill on a spicy wicket seemed completely clueless. In both innings, combined, the Indian skipper managed to score only 22 runs out of which 16 came in 1st innings.
It won’t be wrong to say that Shubman Gill’s performance had a huge impact on India losing the Lord’s Test match. During the 2nd innings when India had to chase 193 runs, India’s skipper should have taken responsibility rather than getting out on a single-digit score and leaving the team in a muddle. Shubman’s 6-run score and his dismissal overnight on Day 4 gave England the self-belief that they can win and they did.
Shubman Gill, during England’s 2nd innings, engaged in a war of words against Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett. Gill was so animated and aggressive that umpires had to intervene between innings and avoid any physical contact. It won’t be at all wrong to say that the heated exchange between Shubman Gill & England openers spurred the English team in the 2nd innings while having the ball in hand, as Gill undoubtedly crossed a line we can say as pointing fingers and intimidation is not acceptable in the game of gentlemen.
Shubman Gill got a reality check after a high-flying Indian cricket team is now in deep shock. We should not forget that Shubman Gill is still in early stages of captaincy & even Test cricket but his behavior seems like he believes that he is the King of Cricket and we all witnessed how he failed in Lord’s after smashing a double century and ton in Birmingham but that wicket was a flat deck & it won’t be wrong to say that Shubman Gill excels only on flat wickets because first opening 2 Test matches were batting paradise.
Karun Nair’s string of low scores
Karun Nair, actually, should lead the batting unit, who is more experienced in terms of years, but his performance isn’t peaking at all. In the 1st innings, Karun Nair got a start of 40 runs, but Ben Stokes got the better of him and sent him back to the pavilion. Karun Nair, who has been batting at the No.3 position since the 2nd Test match, has shown promise but not delivered at his fullest.
In 2nd innings, when India needed their No.3 batter Karun Nair to step up, it was the same old story. Karun Nair showed some intent and played gorgeous shots, but I don’t know exactly what happened as on the in-swinging delivery of Brydon Carse, he left the ball and was adjudged LBW by the third umpire via DRS. Karun Nair’s 14-run knock didn’t help the team much, especially on a tricky Day 4 evening session where a team has to play out the phase and score smartly.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir, along with Shubman Gill, needs to decide on the place of Karun Nair. The veteran batter isn’t converting the starts as he has aggregated 131 runs in 6 innings, and a player of his caliber is expected to do better. Karun Nair has been given the responsibility of filling the shoes of Cheteshwar Pujara at the No.3 position (*not retired), but his performance hasn’t peaked at all , which is becoming a concern for the team.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s questionable shot selection
Yashasvi Jaiswal, on both occasions, was dismissed by Jofra Archer and his urge to assert dominance over the pacer cost him his wicket. If we look back a bit, it might be because Jofra Archer & Yashasvi Jaiswal play for the same IPL team, the Rajasthan Royals (RR), and both would be quite acclimatized to face each other.
Jofra Archer used all the tricks in the book and made sure that Yashasvi Jaiswal fell in his short-ball ploy in 2nd innings. Yashasvi Jaiswal isn’t a great puller of the ball at the initial stages of the match & Archer exploited that weakness. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s scores in the Lord’s Test match were 13 & 0, which is not expected from a flamboyant opener who is known for his fighting attitude.
Jofra Archer has the knack of hitting the deck hard with his raw & sheer pace, and Yashasvi should have shown the same patience rather than smashing him from ball 1. Yashasvi Jaiswal is tipped to be the next big thing in World cricket. We all witnessed how he pummelled Australia’s star-studded bowling line-up up and not to forget the England Test series in 2024, where he whacked the bowlers around the park.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is by no means a newbie in this batting lineup as the batter must pull up his socks. Alone, KL Rahul can’t win India Test matches. The opener smashed a ton in 1st innings and a gritty 39 runs, but didn’t get support from the middle order batting unit. Yashasvi Jaiswal needs to smartly play the role of anchor as well as aggressor in the remaining 2 Test matches.
What lies ahead for India
Shubman Gill’s unit has ample time to recover from a heart-stopping defeat. The 4th Test match commences on 23rd July at Manchester, and India can easily find a way to bounce back and level the series as now they are behind by 1-2. Shubman Gill, who is batting at the No.4 position, needs to remember that filling the shoes of Virat Kohli can’t be done overnight, as that position is quite critical. We all saw in Virat Kohli’s Test career how he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by grinding out in the middle, and Gill needs to take a leaf out of it.
Gautam Gambhir would be crestfalled as in 2nd Test match, the team was looking invincible and now many questions are raising especially over the balance of team. Will Karun Nair get another chance at Manchester or Sai Sudharsan who was replaced after his debut Test match failure and not to forget how the management and coaching staff is blatantly ignoring Kuldeep Yadav as if he is not even in squad.
It’s quite mysterious to decode how Nitish Kumar Reddy has got a place in the playing 11, many would say he got 3 wickets in the match, but is he worthy of a bowler cum all-rounder or a batting all-rounder? Nitish Reddy managed to score 30 (* at No.7 position) & 13 (*at No.9 position). Nitish Kumar Reddy’s batting position was changed as if done with the help of a dice.
Questions are aplenty for the Indian cricket team, and with the next series on line, the richest board, along with the chief selector Ajit Agarkar, would be eyeing a quick turnaround. Most ultimate question would be, will Jasprit Bumrah play the next Test match as his workload program has been making headlines and raising a lot of eyebrows. It won’t be wrong to say that Shubman Gill & Gautam Gambhir need a miracle to make a comeback against a rejuvenated English side who, as of now, is looking ruthless and unstoppable,e and only time will tell whether Manchester brings back joy for a billion people or Great Britain will continue dominance in red ball cricket.
Also Read:Â ENG vs IND: Callous Behavior Of Shubman Gill In Eventful Opening Over Of Jasprit Bumrah Fuels Lord’s