Team India suffered yet another collapse on English soil on Saturday but this time, it proved to be more detrimental as it led to their innings and 76 runs defeat against England in the third Test at Headingley. Sunil Gavaskar reacted to the loss and said it is a cause of concern.
In the opening session of what turned out to be the last day of the Test, India lost seven wickets in a span of 54 minutes. It all began with Ollie Robinson getting the better of Indian skipper Virat Kohli on 55. Kohli fell for 55 when India’s score read 237. Ajinkya Rahane (10), Rishabh Pant (1), Mohammed Shami (6), Ishant Sharma (2), Ravindra Jadeja (30), and Mohammed Siraj (0) were dismissed in a span of 9.3 overs as the visitors were eventually bundled out for 278.
While speaking during the post-match show on Sony Sports, Gavaskar, when asked if the speed at which fell was a little too rapid for comfort, said:
“It was. When you have a look at what we have got at 8,9,10, and 11, we did have some rearguard action at Lord’s, where England lost the plot more than anything else. Once the top three batsmen fell, it was clear we (India) were not going to survive for too long. By any stretch of the imagination, in 54 minutes for 7 wickets to fall is a little bit hard to take.”
Meanwhile, Kohli, while speaking about the loss at the post-match presentation, skipper Kohli said his teammates couldn’t withstand the scoreboard pressure.
“It’s down to scoreboard pressure. We knew we were up against it when we were out for 80 and the opposition put up a big score. We put up crucial partnerships and saw the day through, but the pressure from the English bowlers was brilliant this morning and we didn’t respond well,” said Kohli.
“Batting collapses can happen in this country, the pitch was good to bat on, but their discipline with the ball forced us to make a few mistakes, and it was difficult to deal with spells where we weren’t getting runs. We didn’t make good decisions as a batting side. The pitch looked good to bat on, and when England batted it hadn’t changed much, so they had a lot more intent with the bat, made better decisions. They were the deserving side to win to be honest,” he added.
