London: India captain Shubman Gill said the team had hoped to seize the advantage in the first innings, but were left to rue missed opportunities as England clinched a thrilling 22-run victory in the second Test at Lord’s.
Speaking after the match, Gill expressed pride in the team's performance and remained optimistic about the road ahead in the series.
"At one point, we thought if we get a lead of 80-100 that might be crucial for us, because we knew the fifth day on this wicket might not be that easy to chase 150-200," Gill revealed. "That was definitely our aim during the first innings."
India, who were bowled out for the same total as England in the first innings, had initially looked poised to gain a slender but critical lead before a collapse shifted the momentum. The Indian captain acknowledged that England held their nerve better in crunch moments.
"Extremely proud. Five days of hard-fought cricket and it comes down to the last session, last wicket. Tremendously proud of the effort," he said.
Reflecting on the final-day chase, Gill admitted he was confident about India’s chances, given the batting depth. However, he credited England for their relentless bowling attack that kept pressure throughout.
"With plenty of batting left I was pretty confident, but the way England kept attacking, we wanted to have maybe a couple of 50-run partnerships in our top-order. We weren't able to do that and they played better than us," he remarked.
India's hopes were revived in the middle session thanks to Ravindra Jadeja’s composed resistance with the tail.
"He (Jadeja) is very experienced. I didn’t want to give him any message. He was batting really well with the tail and I just wanted him and the tail-enders to bat as long as possible," Gill said.
However, Gill admitted that the team let the game slip in key phases. "I think in the last one hour, we could have applied ourselves a bit better, especially the last two wickets that fell. Even in this morning, we were hoping for one 50-run partnership at the top," he said.
The Indian skipper was quick to highlight that the defeat didn’t reflect the complete picture of the team's performance.
"Sometimes, the series scorecard doesn’t really reflect how well you have played. I think we played some really good cricket. It’s going to be an even more exciting series from here on," he said, signalling confidence in a turnaround.
On pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s availability for the next Test, Gill added a touch of intrigue, saying, "You will get to know about it soon."
