LONDON: India came agonisingly close to winning the third Test at Lord's only to fall short by 22 runs. This unfortunately has been the case since the series began at Leeds where the visitors were in control till the first four days but lost plot in the final day to lose the contest.
India captain Shubman Gill admitted the issue has been hurting them and they have to find balance. "... if we look at the majority of the days in 15 days, we win more than them. But the sessions that didn't go well for us, they went really bad. So we have to find that balance," he told journalists after the team's loss in the third Test on Monday.
The captain, however, affirmed that he is proud of the efforts put in by his team in the match. "When we know that things are not going according to plan, how can we improve that? Or if the batting is collapsing, where two wickets are falling, how can we make it three or four? These are the small margins that are important in any series. But still, I think, this match was really close. If there is a 10-run partnership, the pressure on the other team increases. And in the pressure, someone tries something new. So, at the end of the day, even if you have played for five days, there are a lot of small moments that you could have done better. But as a whole, if you look at the match, I am very proud of the effort that we put in."
He also said Rishabh Pant's run out on Day 3 was an error of judgement. "We could have given a lead of 150 runs, but we missed it. We talk about this a lot. It's important to keep the team ahead. But I think it was an error of judgement, rather than wanting to score 100 runs. I think he said it would be better if he scored 100 runs before lunch. A batter feels pressure at 99 runs. But at the end of the day, I don't think it was personal. He ran out because of his personal milestone. Rishabh made the call. KL Bhai was at the danger end. I would say it was an error of judgement. It can happen to any batter."
Gill hoped the wicketkeeper-batter would be fine for the next match." Firstly, I think Rishabh went for scans and there is no major injury there. So I think he should be fine for the next Test match."
He credited his English counterpart Ben Stokes for the hard-fought win. "You have to give credit where it's due. The spell that he (Stokes) bowled today, I think he bowled 11 overs (10 actually) on the trot. It was never easy coming in. The kind of efforts that he and his team put in, it was truly commendable to see. And like I said, you give out everything and there are going to be moments where there's going to be a lot of heat and a lot of emotions involved. But at the end of the day, after a test match like this, there is always admiration from both sides. You realise that they also gave in their everything. We also tried our best and they were the better team today."
Speaking on the reasons behind the loss, Gill said, "In the batting, I think we didn't play as well. We didn't play as well as we did in the beginning. I think in the top order, it was important that if we had a one or two partnerships of 50 runs, we would have seen that after 30 or 40 overs, it would have been easier to bat. So that was our effort. But unfortunately, I think this is the first time that we didn't perform as well in the top order. But it happens sometimes. But the way we were in the game till the end, we felt that we could go very close with a partnership of 10 runs. And I think the way Jaddu bhai and our lower order batted, I think it's a very proud effort from the team."
He lauded Ravindra Jadeja for his efforts and said he is one of the most valuable players of the team. "He is one of the most valuable players in India. I think the experience that he brings in, the skill set that he brings with his bowling, batting and fielding is someone that is very rare and hard to find. And the kind of composure that he showed today, it was just tremendous to watch. I think batting with the lower order of the tail has been one of the things that we spoke about in the previous two matches that our lower order of the tail hasn't been contributing as much. But I think the character and the courage that they showed was tremendous."
The match also saw a lot of faceoffs between the two teams and the Indian captain said that can happen in a closely-contested game. "You're giving everything. Mentally, physically, everything. There would be times where there would be a little bit of heat from both sides. But I think that's what makes it so exciting. That's what makes it more challenging. The next time we're going to play against each other, there won't be... At the end of the day, there's a lot of admiration within two teams. Both the teams try their best to be able to win a match and perform. There can be moments where there would be some kind of heat. You're in the moment. You're trying everything to be able to do whatever it takes to make your team win. I think it happens in a game of cricket. That's what makes it more exciting."
When further queried on the issue and asked about the last five-minute play of Day 3, Gill said, "If I have to look at the moments of your five days, I don't think I'll be able to find that in my top five moments. The most important moment for us was Rishabh's run out. At one point, we thought we could take the lead by 50 or 100 runs. We knew it wouldn't be easy to bat on Day 5.
"The more lead we get in the first inning, the better for us. I think that was a very important moment. If you take the lead there, the other team is at the back foot. At the end of the third day, both the teams were at the same level. Obviously, whichever team bats better from here, the chasing team will have more pressure. I think the one hour we played yesterday and today, our top order didn't perform as well as we wanted. That happens sometimes. We were under pressure. We could have handled it better."