India suffer historic Test defeat under Gautam Gambhir’s leadership as England chase down 371, despite five Indian centurions and record totals.
Leeds [UK], June 25 — Team India’s struggles in the Test format deepened under head coach Gautam Gambhir, as the side endured a record-breaking five-wicket defeat to England in the opening Test at Headingley. Despite notching five individual centuries and 835 runs across two innings, the visitors failed to defend a 371-run target, with Ben Duckett’s explosive 149 and Joe Root’s unbeaten 53 powering England to their second-highest successful chase in Test history.
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This loss not only marked a disappointing start to Shubman Gill’s captaincy era but also extended India’s poor red-ball run under Gambhir, despite his prior success with India’s white-ball resurgence, including a T20I transformation and the Champions Trophy title.
Since the Test series against New Zealand at home last October, India has managed to win only one of their last nine Tests — a crushing 295-run victory over Australia in Perth. The remainder included a whitewash at home by New Zealand, a 3-1 drubbing in Australia, and now, this painful defeat at Headingley.
India had England on the ropes multiple times during the match, but the inability to capitalize, coupled with costly fielding errors and lower-order collapses, led to a dramatic collapse of momentum.
While India’s top-order shined, the bowling unit struggled to contain England’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ style, and the fielding unit failed to seize crucial moments — most notably, a dropped sitter by Yashasvi Jaiswal, which gave Ben Duckett a lifeline at 97. Duckett capitalized fully, going on to score a match-defining 149.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir, credited with India’s white-ball resurgence, is under mounting pressure to deliver in Tests, with this latest defeat spotlighting strategic and executional lapses.
Adding to the strange statistical footnotes of the defeat, India became the first team in history to lose a Test despite five batters scoring centuries — Yashasvi Jaiswal (101), Shubman Gill (147), KL Rahul (137), and Rishabh Pant, who scored twin tons (134 & 118). In total, India put up 835 runs, the fourth-highest total for any team that ended up on the losing side in Test cricket.
Even Rishabh Pant’s stellar away Test record continues to be jinxed. All of his overseas centuries — including 118 (ENG, 2018), 159* (AUS, 2019), 100* (SA, 2022), 146 (ENG, 2022), and now his latest — have come in matches India failed to win.
As India regroups before the second Test in Birmingham, questions around team balance, fielding standards, and lower-order contributions remain unanswered. For Gambhir and Gill, the road ahead is steep, and the margin for error has already shrunk.