As the first test match came to its conclusion on the fifth day, the Indian team lost to England by five wickets, which is likely to haunt the Indian bowling unit, as the England batters chased 350+ runs on the last day of the match.
Gambhir in the post-match interview revealed that the plan for Bumrah had not changed, and he will only play three test matches out of five in the England series.
India had to defend the 350 runs in the last day, where they had 90 overs to make it a draw or take 10 wickets to win the match, but Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett came out on the pitch with a positive intent, and right from the first ball, they looked to score runs.
England’s batting lineup had already noticed that the Indian bowling unit lacked the intent and discipline to attack the stumps, as Prashid Krishna and Mohammed Siraj consistently bowled outside the off stump or on the leg stump, which gave the England batters an easy time scoring runs.
Ben Duckett had a free-flowing run, scoring 149 runs with a strike rate of 87. With Joe Root, he looked like he would bring the win by himself, but then came the Thakur over, where he took two wickets in two balls. First, he got Ben Duckett out, and then in the last match, the most lucky player, Harry Brook, was on a golden duck.
Jadeja did find a patch where he troubled Ben Stokes and, in the end, got his wicket, but until then, the game was already won as Jamie Smith, the young batsman, alongside Joe Root, helped the team win by five wickets.
The issue here in this match was not only the Prasidh Krishna economy but the Siraj effect as in the next match we can see Siraj being replace by the Arshdeep Singh or in the last phase Bumrah went of the field after a hard five day of bowling where only he seems to be troubling the england batters.
What Gambhir Said about Bumrah and the Indian Team in the Post-Match Interview
Gambhir defended his bowlers as he asked for time for them, and it should be like this because in Indian cricket we give a lot of chances to the batter, but even in one match if a bowler goes expensive or wicketless, they are changed instantly, which has been the issue with the Indian management.
Additionally, he discussed the tailenders who failed to score in the first innings. The India team lost seven wickets in just 41 runs, and in the second innings, they lost six wickets in just 31 runs, which is quite fatal. The top order, except for Sai Sudharsan, performed really well for India, especially Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul’s beautiful innings.
Additionally, the catches dropped by the fielders, especially in the slips, gave India a hard time, and if some of those had been taken, the result would surely have been different.
Also Read: IND vs ENG, 1st Test, Day 5: Ben Duckett Stars As England Won The First Test By 5 Wickets
