Subhayan Chakraborty in London
The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy so far has been a series of missed opportunities for Team India. Had they seized their chances at Headingley or not chased personal milestones just before Lunch on Day 3 at Lord’s, India could have already sealed the series 3-0. Even setting aside the ifs and buts, India have failed to win crucial moments in the series, the biggest being losing wickets in the final overs before session breaks, relinquishing momentum to the hosts.
On Day 3 at Lord’s, when KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant were pushing England on the back foot with a stellar 141-run stand, the duo went for a tight single, with Ben Stokes producing a moment of magic to run Pant out. As admitted by Rahul, he wanted to complete his century before the break, and that dismissal ended up shifting the momentum of the game. Captain Shubman Gill labelled the run-out as the “biggest turning point of the game”.
“There was a conversation a couple of overs earlier. I told him I would try to get my hundred before lunch if possible. With (Shoaib) Bashir bowling that last over before lunch, I thought there was a good chance for me to get it, but, unfortunately, I hit it straight to the fielder,” Rahul told reporters at the end of Day 3.
“It was a ball I could have hit for a boundary. Then he just wanted to rotate the strike to put me back on strike. But, yeah, it shouldn’t have happened – a run-out at that stage really changed the momentum. It was disappointing for both of us. Obviously, nobody wants to throw away their wicket like that,” he added.
India have been guilty of losing wickets in the final overs of sessions in all three Tests. On Day 1 at Headingley, Rahul and Sai Sudharsan fell. On Day 2 of the same Test, Karun Nair, Pant, and Shardul Thakur followed suit. While India won the Edgbaston Test, on Day 1, Nair lost his wicket right on the brink of the session break, and on Day 2, Ravindra Jadeja was dismissed at a similar time.
Even if Pant’s run-out on Day 3 at Lord’s could be termed as an “error of judgment,” as called by Gill, Nitish Kumar Reddy’s dismissal on the stroke of lunch on Day 5 was a body blow India couldn’t afford. Though Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj showed superb resilience and grit to support Jadeja, it was a matter of two wicket-taking deliveries to end all hopes for the visitors, which ultimately happened in a heartbreaking fashion.
“We talk a lot about keeping the team’s interests ahead of personal milestones. But I think it was an error of judgment rather than wanting to score 100 runs. He (Rahul) said it would be better if he scored 100 runs before lunch. A batsman feels pressure at 99 runs,” Gill told reporters after the game.
“But at the end of the day, I don’t think it was personal, and he didn’t get run-out because of his personal milestone. It was an error of judgment. Rishabh made the call. KL bhai was running to the danger end. I would say it was an error of judgment. It can happen to any batsman.”
“Having said that, the most important moment for us was Rishabh’s run-out. At one point, we thought we could take a lead of 50 or 100 runs. We knew it wouldn’t be easy to bat on Day 5. The larger the lead we get in the first innings, the better for us. It puts the other team on the back foot as well,” said Gill.
With the Indian team set to stay in London and train in Beckenham on Thursday, and travel to Manchester on July 19, one would hope these lapses in concentration and losing wickets right on the brink of session breaks will be avoided in the next two Tests.
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