The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 is nearing its end, as on the final and fifth day of the ongoing Oval Test, England need just 35 runs to win while India require four wickets to level the series. But ahead of that decisive day, former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin pointed out the areas where India fell short on Day 4 and also shared his views on captain Shubman Gill.
Speaking on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’, Ashwin felt that the Indian bowlers failed to build enough pressure on the England batters to take wickets, and suggested that Australian bowlers have been the most effective in such situations.
“India have failed in one place. On this pitch, this is a big score (target of 374). India find themselves in this hole because, pressure-building bowling is a lost art. Barring Australia, every team is struggling on that front. It’s called defensive pressure building. In the T20 era where the motto is to go for wickets, how to build rhythm to get those wickets is key,” he added.
The former bowler also pointed out England’s strength when it comes to tactical thinking and game awareness — both on and off the field — and felt India were not sharp enough in comparison.
“I have felt in this series that there has been a lack of game awareness and in many ways, our tactical acumen both on and off the field. This is the main reason why England are ahead in this series and India are behind. We haven’t been the sharpest,” he mentioned.
Ashwin further commented on Shubman Gill’s captaincy, saying the young skipper needs more time to grow into the role and improve his decision-making — especially in deploying the right bowlers at crucial moments.
“I feel Shubman Gill will get really better as the captain. He will learn. But sometimes if you feel that you can play spin really well, you will not bring spinners into the attack, and when you miss the moment to bring the spinners in these conditions, then the spinner becomes a really defensive option,” he concluded.
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