It was truly a baptism by fire for Shubman Gill in his Test captaincy debut. India lost a match they could have—and perhaps should have—won, despite racking up over 800 runs across two innings, fuelled by four centurions and a five-wicket haul from their pace spearhead. Yet, as a new era of Indian Test cricket began, they were once again undone by familiar frailties that have plagued them in the past. England, it must be said, made light work of a daunting 371-run target on the final day.

Powered by their fearless brand of cricket—popularly dubbed ‘Bazball’—England pulled off their second-highest successful run chase in Test history to go 1-0 up in the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series. While India contributed to their own downfall with lapses in key moments, England stood tall when it mattered most. Ben Duckett’s sensational 149 in the fourth innings was the centrepiece as England chased down the target with five wickets to spare, scoring at a brisk 4.38 runs per over. | Leeds Test Day 5 Highlights |

Shubman Gill couldn’t have asked for a wilder initiation in his first Test as captain. Over the course of a fiercely contested five days at Headingley, he witnessed nearly every shade of Test cricket: India’s top order fired, he silenced his doubters with a maiden century in the much-debated SENA conditions, his vice-captain struck a double hundred, but his bowling unit failed to function as a collective, his fielders turned in one of their poorest performances in recent memory, and his lower middle-order folded quicker than some of those ferrying drinks onto the field.

Old problems resurfaced for India. Much like Rohit Sharma was criticised for overusing Jasprit Bumrah during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, Gill too found himself leaning heavily on the world’s premier fast bowler as the rest of the attack looked ineffective. Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna arrived in England off the back of a solid IPL, yet failed to offer Bumrah the support he desperately needed. India’s choice of all-rounder in Shardul Thakur also backfired—he neither delivered with the bat nor offered the control expected with the ball.

The pressure is now squarely on Gautam Gambhir, who has lost six out of his first eleven Tests as head coach. Several of his selection calls will come under scrutiny, and with the early advantage handed to Ben Stokes and his men, the road ahead in this high-stakes series is only set to get steeper.

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