Gambhir Defends India's Tailenders After Test Collapse, Cites Missed Catches as Key Factor

India's aspirations faltered on the final day at Headingley, as England completed a remarkable 371-run chase. This defeat marks India's seventh in their last nine Tests.

India amassed 835 runs, showcasing five individual centuries, including Rishabh Pant's centuries in both innings, yet still fell short, highlighting the impact of two significant batting collapses.

India suffered a loss of 7 wickets for 41 runs in the first innings, and 6 for 31 in the second. The initial collapse undermined what could have been a commanding position after winning the toss, allowing England to stay within reach of India's first innings total of 471. The second collapse left India with a target of 371 to defend, which England successfully chased.

Shubman Gill, who celebrated his captaincy debut with a century in the first innings, mentioned that the team was aiming for a target "around 435." However, head coach Gautam Gambhir believed the pivotal moment occurred earlier. He stated, "If we could've got to 570, 580 in the first innings, we could've dominated from there."

Despite the lower order's struggles, Gambhir defended their efforts. Shardul Thakur, chosen as an all-rounder, was dismissed playing aggressive shots in both innings. Prasidh Krishna was out attempting a slog sweep while partnering with Ravindra Jadeja.

India dropped crucial catches throughout the Test match on a surface that didn't offer a lot of help. © Getty

"It's not that they weren't applying themselves. Sometimes people fail. And that's okay," Gambhir explained. "I know it's disappointing, and they were more disappointed than anyone. It's not like they're not working hard. Even proper batters fail. Hopefully, they'll learn, and hopefully, we'll get better performances from our tail. That is not the only reason we lost."

Another significant factor was India's poor catching performance. They dropped seven catches, with Yashasvi Jaiswal being a repeat offender. Jaiswal dropped Ben Duckett, who was on 97, and he went on to score 149, a match-defining innings. Gill acknowledged the need to improve catching standards, especially considering the challenges at Headingley.

Gill commented, "Yes, that was something that we spoke about. But when you are out there, it happens so quickly. It would be one of those things that we have to rectify. Chances don't come easy, especially on wickets like these, and we dropped quite a few catches. We have got a young team, still a learning one, and hopefully, in the next matches, we'll be able to improve."

However, Gambhir dismissed the "young team" narrative as an excuse. "Every defeat is bad. It's not about a young team or an experienced team. It's an Indian team. We take pride in winning each and every game for our country. A young team is not an excuse. We represent 140 crore proud Indians. We will try and give our absolute best. There are no excuses. We will turn up every Test match thinking that we can win the test match and win the series."

The head coach also confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah would play only two more Test matches, according to a pre-series workload management plan. The specific matches are yet to be decided. "We won't change the plans. For us to manage his workload is more important. Before he came on the show, it was already decided that he's going to play three Test matches.

"But let's see how his body turns out. We haven't decided which two other Test matches he's going to play. [Even without Bumrah] we absolutely have the bowling attack [to compete]. We believe in them. We trust in them. When we pick the squad, we pick the squad on trust, not on hope. As I just mentioned, those are inexperienced bowlers but they will keep getting better. We saw in this Test match as well that for the first four days, even on day five, we were in a position where we could have won the Test match. We believe and we trust that these boys will deliver for us."