Gambhir Backs Under-Fire Lower Order After India's Batting Collapses Costly Test Defeat

Following India's recent Test defeat against England at Headingley, head coach Gautam Gambhir has voiced his support for the team's lower-order batsmen, despite their struggles in the match.

India's batting lineup faltered in both innings, contributing significantly to their ultimate loss.

Missed catches plagued India throughout the Test. © Getty

Despite amassing a substantial 835 runs and featuring five centurions, including Rishabh Pant with a century in each innings, India fell short due to two significant batting collapses. The team lost 7 wickets for 41 runs in the first innings and 6 for 31 in the second. These collapses proved critical, turning a potentially commanding position into a chaseable target for England.

Shubman Gill, who marked his captaincy debut with a century in the first innings, mentioned that the team was aiming for a target of around 435 runs. However, Gautam Gambhir believed that the game's momentum shifted earlier, suggesting that a first-innings total of 570 or 580 could have secured India's dominance.

Despite the setbacks, Gambhir defended the lower order, stating, "Look, first of all, it's not that they weren't applying themselves. Sometimes people fail. And that's okay." He acknowledged the disappointment within the team, emphasizing their awareness of the missed opportunity. "It's not like they're not working hard in the nets. These things happen. Even proper batters fail. Hopefully, they'll learn, and hopefully, we'll get better performances from our tail. And that is not the only reason we lost the Test match."

Another key factor in India's defeat was their poor catching performance. The team dropped as many as seven catches, with Yashasvi Jaiswal being a repeat offender. One costly drop involved Ben Duckett, who was reprieved on 97 and went on to score a match-defining 149. Gill acknowledged the need for improvement in this area, stating, "Chances don't come easy, especially on wickets like these, and we dropped quite a few catches. But I think we have got a young team, still a learning one, and hopefully, in the next matches, we'll be able to improve on those aspects."

However, Gambhir dismissed the "young team" narrative as an excuse for the loss. "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 will turn up every Test match thinking that we can win the test match and win the series."

Gambhir also addressed the workload management plan for Jasprit Bumrah, confirming that he would play only two more Test matches in the series, a decision made prior to the series. The specific matches are yet to be determined, with the focus on managing his workload for future commitments. Despite Bumrah's limited availability, Gambhir expressed confidence in the remaining bowlers, stating, "We believe in them. We trust in them... We believe and we trust that these boys will deliver for us."