England’s legendary Test batter and former captain Alastair Cook offered a sympathetic take on Shubman Gill’s leadership, comparing the young Indian skipper’s early days to Ben Stokes’ initial phase as England’s Test captain. However, on Sky Sports’ Stick to Cricket podcast, former England cricketer David Lloyd raised questions about Gill’s tactical approach during the first Test in Leeds.
“The intrigue is with Shubman Gill, who’s a very inexperienced skipper. How’s he going to come back from that? He’s got Ravindra Jadeja and Karun Nair, who are in their 30s. So he’s got experience in his team. It’s great having a young team that he’s got. But tactically he’s reactive rather than proactive in the stuff that he’s doing,” Lloyd said.
In response, Cook came to Gill’s defence, highlighting the natural adjustment period that comes with a new leadership style.
“When you take over a team, there will always be a phase when the team gets used to the new leader. This happened with (Ben) Stokes when he came in. It took a while (for England players) to get used to him when he came in and said, ‘We’re going to try and smash every ball’,” Cook said.
England clinch Leeds Test with a historic chase
England defeated India by five wickets on the fifth day of the first Test at Leeds. After centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and vice-captain Rishabh Pant in the first innings, India seemed on course for a commanding total. However, they lost their last seven wickets for just 41 runs, handing the momentum back to England.
In the second innings, KL Rahul and Pant once again notched up centuries, and India looked set to post a challenging target. But history repeated itself as the lower order collapsed again, this time losing six wickets for just 31 runs.
For England, Ben Duckett played a gem of an innings on the final day, scoring 149 at a healthy strike rate. Joe Root played the anchor’s role perfectly to steer England to a memorable win.
To add to India’s woes, several key catches were dropped throughout the match, making England’s task significantly easier.
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