Shubman Gill : Skipper Shubman Gill attributed India’s loss in the first Test against England at Headingley in Leeds to batting collapses and poor fielding. According to Gill, the visitors were set England a target of 430. He also admitted that India dropped too many catches in the field.
Shubman Gill : England beat India by five wickets in first Test in Leeds on Tuesday, June 24. Set a target of 371, the hosts got home in 82 overs as opener Ben Duckett struck 149, while Zak Crawley and Joe Root contributed crucial half-centuries. For India, Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur claimed two wickets each, while Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj went wicketless.
Shubman Gill : Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Gill admitted that India had their chances in the game, but failed to make best use of the same. He said (as quoted by Times of India):
“A brilliant Test, we had our chances. Dropped catches, lower order not contributing cost us. Yesterday, we were thinking of giving them 430, but our last wickets fell for 25. Even today, I thought we had our chances after the brilliant first wicket. Didn’t go to hand. We spoke about the first-innings collapse. Happens, but we have to rectify that going forward.”
Take a bow. What an innings. Ben Duckett. 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/QnTIVmmlMl
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 24, 2025
Shubman Gill : India were seven wickets for 41 runs in the first innings to slip from 430-3 to 471 all-out. In the second essay, they lost six wickets for 31 runs to collapse from 333-4 to 364 all-out.
Shubman Gill : The visitors dropped a number of catches in the Leeds Test, with Yashasvi Jaiswal being one of the biggest culprits. The Indian opener dropped a catch of Duckett at a crucial juncture on Day 5. Gill lamented:
“Chances don’t come easy on wickets like this, but we have a young, learning team.”
Joe Root's default setting. pic.twitter.com/i6jF9kOnKC
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 24, 2025
Before Jaiswal dropped Duckett, Bumrah also failed to latch on to a tough return catch in his follow through. India dropped as many as six catches in England’s first innings in Leeds.
“Hard to stop runs once the ball gets old” – Shubman Gill
“First session, we bowled spot-on. Didn’t give away runs, but it’s hard to stop runs once the ball gets old. Have to keep taking wickets then. Jadeja bowled brilliantly, created chances.”
The second Test of the five-match series between India and England will be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham from July 2 to July 6.
