Gill concerned over losing wickets in clusters

Manchester: A big worry for this Indian team has been the inability to seize the clutch moments. They have dominated England for the better part of the three Tests, but losing wickets in and around intervals, and in a cluster, has seen them trail 1-2.

Skipper Shubman Gill, addressing the media at Old Trafford on Tuesday, acknowledged it to be a matter of concern. “So definitely, I think, at the start of every series, even when we were in Australia, we spoke about how we can start and close the sessions well. And all the batsmen, all the players who are playing in the middle, are aware of that, that we want to be able to close the session well.

“And at times, yes, we have done that well. But we have seen there's a trend (in this series), even when we are bowling, we have seen at the start of a session, we will get some wickets. Or there will be no wickets in the session, at the end of the session, we will get a wicket. And vice versa, even when we are batting, we will start the session very well, but when it's important to be able to finish a session, we will lose a wicket. That definitely brings the opponent team back into the game. It is something that we are aware of, but sometimes, you know, it is not in your control, you try to do your best, and it doesn't happen.”

Another challenge Gill, India’s fourth youngest Test captain, has had to tackle is managing his pace bowling resources. Gill has fielded three different pace bowling combinations so far which could become four come Wednesday if Anshul Kamboj makes his debut. Part of that problem is because of Jasprit Bumrah’s availability for only three matches based on medical advice, and Gill admitted it’s not an ideal situation but is learning to deal with it.

“It's not ideal that you have to do it after every match. You kind of have to go back and have a different combination. But it was something that I was prepared for before the series that there would be a scenario where I would have to have a different combination for every match. And so I kind of planned it before the series, you know, how we're going to go about it. Anshul, he is very close to making his debut. We're going to see tomorrow between him and Prasidh, who's going to make it to the team.”