Leeds, June 25 (IANS) India skipper Shubman Gill admitted they had their opportunities but failed to capitalise on them, as England pulled off a dramatic five-wicket victory on the final day of the first Test at Headingley. Chasing 371, the hosts rode on a dominant opening stand and composed finishes from Joe Root and debutant Jamie Smith to take a 1-0 lead in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

“A brilliant Test match,” said Gill after the loss. “We had chances in the match, a few dropped catches, and the lower order didn’t contribute as it would have been.” Reflecting on the second innings, where India collapsed from 333/4 to 364 all out, Gill revealed that India were initially planning a declaration.

“Yesterday we were thinking to give them around 400-430 to chase and declare, but our lower order added around 20-25 runs, which is never a good sign,” he said. “Even today, I thought after their brilliant opening partnership, we did have our chances but just didn’t go our way.”

England’s chase was headlined by Ben Duckett’s dazzling 149 and his 188-run opening stand with Zak Crawley, which set the tone early on. Thakur’s double strike brought brief hope as he dismissed Duckett and Harry Brook in successive deliveries, but Root and Smith’s unbroken 71-run stand sealed the game in style.

India’s fielding performance drew sharp attention, with Gill conceding the dropped chances hurt their cause. “Chances don’t come easy on wickets like these, and we dropped quite a few catches. But we have got a young team which is still learning. Hopefully, in the next matches, we’ll be able to improve on those aspects.”

Asked what he might have done differently as captain, Gill said, “The first session we bowled, we were quite spot on. But it’s quite hard to stop the runs once the ball gets old, and you have to keep picking wickets to stay in the game. Unfortunately, some catches didn’t find the fielders and didn’t go our way, but I think they batted really well. After the ball got old, they took their chances, and their opening partnership took the game away from us.”

Ravindra Jadeja, who toiled tirelessly on Day 5, earned praise from his skipper. “He bowled brilliantly. He created some chances for us—a few pop-ups—but that happens in a game of cricket. You kind of expect some chances to go your way.”

Jasprit Bumrah’s performance also drew interest, especially after he went wicketless in the second innings. Gill confirmed the team would assess his workload before the second Test. “It’s definitely more game by game. There’s a good break after this Test match, so once we are close to the match, we’ll see.”

India had looked in control after posting 471 in the first innings, powered by hundreds from Gill himself, Rishabh Pant, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. But recurring collapses, a lack of support from the lower order, and sloppy fielding ultimately allowed England to claw back.

–IANS

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