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India suffered a heartbreaking five-wicket defeat to England in the first Test at Headingley, despite dominating major portions of the game. The thing that made the loss particularly frustrating was India’s repeated failure to capitalise on strong positions.
Nasser Hussain and Ravi Shastri shed light on India’s twin shortcomings in Headingley Test
After the game, former England captain Nasser Hussain highlighted these two glaring issues, India’s slip catching and the absence of a quality seam-bowling all-rounder. Speaking to Sky Sports, Hussain said:
“The slip cordon and the catching were poor, something that India have done well in the last two or three years and that concerns me. Because India has a lower order with spin-bowling all-rounders, and has had that for the last decade, which are magnificent, Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar Patel. But in England, they are still looking, I think, for that seam bowling all-rounder someone like a Hardik Pandya, going back to Ravi’s times, Kapil Dev or whatever they are still looking for that lower-order bowler who can bat. And if they keep going for what, seven for 41 and six for 30 or whatever, then this could be a quick series,”
Joining in the post-match analysis, former India head coach Ravi Shastri minced no words in his criticism of India’s tail-end batting and poor fielding. India’s lower order failed to offer any resistance, in both innings, the last seven wickets fell for 41 and 30 runs, respectively. Shastri said India’s inability to finish innings strongly gave England a lifeline they shouldn’t have had.
“Tough pill to swallow, you know. You don’t get into positions where you’re 430 for three and then blow it from there. They knew that they had a chance to really take England out of the game, out of the contest, and then dictate terms. But you’ve got to learn from your mistakes. First thing would be more bottle from the tail. They’ll have to get into the nets and get the slingers to ram it in, get behind it and be stubborn, and put a price tag on your wicket, that’s number one. Number two, the catching. You can’t do anything if you drop five catches in one innings and then again two or three in the second. Good sides will make you pay for it. And in England, you know how good England are, especially in a chase. They made India pay the price for it,” Shastri said.
A wake-up call for India ahead of the second Test
The team posted two impressive totals, 471 in the first innings after being 430/3 and 364 in the second innings after reaching 333/4, but dramatic lower-order collapses in both innings allowed England to remain in the game. To add to the woes, India dropped seven catches across both innings, their worst fielding display in a Test since 2019. Young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had earlier scored a century, endured a horror outing in the slips, dropping four catches including that of Ben Duckett, who went on to score a match-defining 149.
Despite centuries from five Indian batters, India ended up squandering a golden opportunity. England chased down 371 runs in the fourth innings, with Ben Duckett’s 149 leading the charge and an unbeaten 71-run partnership between Joe Root (53 not out) and debutant Jamie Smith (44 not out) sealing the win. The loss handed England their second-highest successful Test chase and put India under pressure heading into the second Test at Edgbaston from July 2. With the team struggling to strike the right balance and fielders letting key chances slip, the management will need to urgently reassess both team composition and slip cordon discipline.
