Shubman Gill lost his first match as India Test captain after the Men in Blue succumbed to a five-wicket loss in the ENG vs IND 1st Test at Headingley.
However, one decision that drew criticism was to not bowl star India pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the final few overs of the match.
Bumrah was not seen in action after the 65th over when England needed 85 more to win. While one might presume Jasprit Bumrah was injured as he was seen sitting in the dugout, he eventually came onto the field for the last couple of overs.
It can thus be presumed that the Indian skipper thought of saving him for a fresh spell with the new ball after the 80th over. But the English duo of Joe Root and Jamie Smith kept the scoreboard ticking and had already reduced the required target to 22 runs when the new ball was available.
Even after that, it was Jadeja and Siraj who continued to bowl and England wrapped up the contest in the 82nd over.
ALSO READ:
After successfully chasing 371, the Three Lions entered the list of top 10 successful chases in the longest format. For England, their openers Zak Crawley (65) and Ben Duckett (149) gave them a solid start with a century opening stand. However, India fought back in the afternoon with seaming all-rounder Shardul Thakur taking two wickets in two balls to remove Duckett and the new batter Harry Brook in successive deliveries to jolt England.
It was then the experienced pair of Ben Stokes and Joe Root who navigated the crunch phase rather impeccably before the England skipper departed on 33. Joe Root remained unbeaten on 53* and the young Jamie Smith complemented him brilliantly from the other end with a deft knock of 44* to take the game away from India.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
