"Lower-order didn't contribute enough.." Shubman Gill after India's five-wicket defeat against England in Headingley test

Shubman Gill slammed a century in the first innings of Headingley test.

England Cricket Team outplayed India Cricket Team by five wickets in first test of the five-match test series at Headingley, Leeds. In a high-scoring encounter, the hosts chased down a mammoth 371-run target in the second innings like a walk in the park.

Ben Duckett (149) hammered a century, while Zak Crawley (64) and Joe Root (53*) scored fifties to help England register an easy victory on day 5 of the game. Duckett won Player of the Match award for his match-winning knock.

Indian bowlers completely failed to outplay England batters on day 5. Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur picked two wickets each, while Ravindra Jadeja clinched one wicket. However, an 188-run stand by openers Duckett and Zak Crawley at the start set the platform for England’s victory.

Our lower-order didn’t contribute enough: Shubman Gill after India’s defeat in Headingley test

During the post-match presentation, Indian skipper Shubman Gill noted that their lower-order didn’t contribute enough runs. However, he is proud of the good efforts by his teammates.

“I think it was a brilliant Test match. We had our chances, we dropped catches and our lower-order didn’t contribute enough, but proud of the team and overall a good effort. Yesterday we were thinking around 430 odd and declare. Unfortunately, we didn’t score runs at the end, which always makes it difficult. Just didn’t go our way in this match,” Shubman Gill said.

Notably, India dropped many catches during the encounter, which was one of the big factors for their defeat. Speaking about the same, Gill said that his team will look to rectify their fielding issues in the upcoming games.

“That was something we spoke about. It happened so quickly. It could be one of those things we have to rectify in the upcoming matches. Definitely, chances don’t come easily on wickets like these. It’s a young team, learning one, and hopefully we will be able to improve on those aspects,” the Indian skipper further said.

Talking about the first innings, England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bowl first. India piled up a gigantic 471/10 in the first innings with centuries by Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Rishabh Pant.

However, England almost matched their total with 465/10 in the first innings, with a century by Ollie Pope (106) and a 99-run knock by Harry Brook. India later piled up 364/10 in the second innings, setting a 371-run target for the hosts.

Meanwhile, England have gained a 1-0 lead in the five-match test series. Both sides will now clash at Edgbaston, Birmingham in the second test scheduled to commence on July 2.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.