India vs England 1st Test: India's pacer Jasprit Bumrah did not bowl in the final stage on Day 5 of the first Test against England and this raised eyebrows as the hosts pulled off a historic chase and raced to a five-wicket victory.
Despite a new ball being taken after the 80th over, a critical point tailor-made for Bumrah's return, captain Shubman Gill decided to hand the ball to Mohammed Siraj instead of star pacer, while veteran Ravindra Jadeja continued to bowl from the other end.
Much to India's dismay, the decision failed to live up to their expectations as Jamie Smith with no hesitation targeted Jadeja, smoking him for 18 runs in a single over, sealing a memorable 371-run chase for the hosts - their second-highest in Test history.
During the post-match presentation, India Test captain Shubman Gill confirmed there is a long break for the second Test — starting in Birmingham on July 2 — and the team will take a call on Jasprit Bumrah before the game.
“It’s definitely more game by game; you know there’s a good break after the Test match, so once we’re close to the match we’ll see," Gill said on Bumrah's availability.
India still have time to regroup for their next match and work on its fielding while addressing their lower batting order collapse. And a gap of eight days between the first and second Tests will play a big role in their strategy making.
Gill acknowledged that they had to address the problem going into the second Test.
“It was a brilliant Test match. We had our chances, we dropped catches and our lower-order didn't contribute enough, but proud of the team and overall a good effort. Yesterday, we were thinking around 430 odd and declare but we lost six wickets for 25 runs (31),” Gill said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
“That (lower-order contribution) was something we spoke about. (But) it (collapses) happened so quickly. (It) could be one of those things we have to rectify in the upcoming matches,” he said.