NEW DELHI: After India’s nail-biting 22-run loss to England in the third Test at Lord’s, batter Shubman Gill offered a blunt assessment of what went wrong. Speaking during the post-match presentation, Gill expressed pride in the team’s fighting spirit but pointed to a lack of key partnerships and a crucial run-out that tilted the match in England’s favour.
“Extremely proud,” Gill said of the team’s performance. “It was as close a Test match as it can get — stretched over five days and coming down to the final session. I was confident in our chances. We just needed a couple of 50-run partnerships, but we couldn’t string them together when it mattered most.”
India, chasing a target of 192 on a deteriorating Day 5 pitch, collapsed for 170 despite a gritty unbeaten 61 from Ravindra Jadeja. He held firm with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, trying to take the game deep, but the lower order eventually crumbled under pressure.
Gill highlighted Rishabh Pant’s first-innings run-out as a turning point. “Had Pant not been run out, we could’ve had a lead of 70 or 80 runs. That would’ve changed the complexion of the game completely — we wouldn’t be chasing close to 200 on a tricky fifth-day track.”
Responding to questions about players possibly being too focused on personal milestones — especially after KL Rahul admitted there was a conversation about Pant reaching his century before lunch — Gill downplayed the speculation. “Actually, it was a judgment error in the running. These things happen. If you look closely, KL bhai was the one running to the danger end.”
Gill also defended Jadeja’s cautious approach while batting with the tail. “He’s very experienced. There was no need for instructions from the dressing room. He batted beautifully. It was the final hour of the match on Day 4, and we could have applied ourselves better.”
Reflecting on the series as a whole, Gill noted that the scoreline doesn’t tell the full story of India’s competitiveness. “Out of 15 days of Test cricket, we dominated most. But the sessions we lost, we lost badly — and that cost us two games. The scorecard won’t reflect the effort and control we had for large portions of the series.”
India now trails in the series, with only one Test remaining. While the loss at Lord’s will sting, Gill’s remarks point to a belief within the camp that they were closer to victory than the final margin suggests.
