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Shubman Gill's tenure as India's new Test captain began with a promise but ended in disappointment as England pulled off a historic chase to win the first Test at Headingley by five wickets. Led by Ben Duckett's sensational 149, England chased down 371 in just 82 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
India started the match strongly, piling up 359/3 on Day 1, but a collapse on Day 2 saw them finish at 471. Despite centuries from Gill himself (147), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (in both innings), and KL Rahul, the visitors couldn't convert their dominance into a win. Reflecting on the defeat, Gill acknowledged the team's shortcomings in key moments in the post-match presentation. "A brilliant Test, we had our chances. Dropped catches, lower order not contributing cost us," he said after the match. India's second innings collapse on Day 4 saw them lose their last few wickets quickly, setting England a target that proved insufficient. "Yesterday, we were thinking of giving them 430, but our last wickets fell for 25," Gill noted. "Even today, I thought we had our chances after the brilliant first wicket. Didn't go to hand," he added. He admitted that India's failure to capitalise on the first-innings advantage and lapses in the field proved costly. "We spoke about the first-innings collapse. Happens, we have to rectify that going forward. Chances don't come easy on wickets like this, but we have a young team. Learning one. Hope to improve that," he said. Despite a disciplined bowling effort early on Day 5, the Indian attack couldn't sustain the pressure as the ball got older. "The first session, we bowled spot-on. Didn't give away runs, but it's hard to stop runs once it gets old," said Gill. "Have to keep taking wickets when the ball got soft," he added. He also praised Ravindra Jadeja's performance with the ball. "Jadeja bowled brilliantly, created chances" When asked about managing the workload of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah during the series, Gill responded, "It's decided game-by-game. Once we're close to the next game after a long break, we'll see." (ANI)
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