India skipper Shubman Gill described his team’s four-wicket defeat to England in the second ODI of the three-match series as "quite disappointing".
Asked to bat first, the tourists were bowled out for 233 in 44 overs. Despite strong fifties by Shreyas Iyer (66) and Virat Kohli (65), India’s middle order faltered as they lost five wickets for 32 runs.
For England, Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson led the way with three wickets each. Saqib Mahmood bagged two scalps while Sam Curran and Will Jacks returned with wicket apiece.
In reply, the Three Lions' top and middle order crumbled, putting them in a precarious position at 125/5. However, Joe Root (99*) held the innings together and was supported by crucial cameos from Will Jacks (30), Sam Curran (26), and Gus Atkinson (23*) to steer England across the line with 35 deliveries remaining.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, Gill acknowledged that India were disappointed with their total, saying they were aiming for 300-310 but lost too many wickets in the middle overs.
“Quite disappointing, to be honest with you. We thought 300, 310 would be a good total after 25 overs. We were at a good position. But, we lost too many wickets in the middle overs,” Gill said.
“[On India's two batting collapses] I mean, our tailenders are not the best batsmen. But I think we expected a bit more from our lower middle order and we were not able to capitalize on the start that we got. But hopefully, the next time we get there, we'll try to build some small partnerships and take it on from there,” he added.
The captain admitted frustration with his own shot, getting caught out for 31 while attempting a drive straight to cover.
“[On his dismissal] Never a good feeling when you ping one straight to cover,” he stated.
Washington Sundar suffered a hamstring issue while running between the wickets during the first innings. Losing a key spin-bowling all-rounder forced Gill to over-bowl the frontline pacers.
Although Shubman Gill said it caused a "momentum loss," he felt the injury probably wouldn't have altered the final outcome because the pitch was heavily assisting the fast bowlers.
“[The impact of Washington Sundar's injury] You know, he's a key part of our team. I think he got injured while he was batting, taking that run to mid-off and maybe it would have played a part, squeezing in the pressure. We had to bowl our main bowlers throughout the inning. But I don't think it would have made a really big difference because the ball was doing for the fast bowlers. But when you lose a key player like that, you have to change your strategies, you have to change who's going to bowl. So in terms of that, yes, there was a bit of momentum loss for us,” he remarked.
Gill also praised Root, saying the English stalwart is a master at chasing such targets and is difficult to dismiss when the required run rate remains manageable.
“[On Joe Root's match-winning innings] Yeah, not really. I mean, 240, we always knew, if we would have had 300, close to 5.5-6, we knew maybe we could produce a false shot out of him. But 4.5-5 runs per over, he's the master of these kind of totals. We just couldn't produce any false shot out of him,” he concluded.
The series-deciding third ODI will be played at Lord’s on Sunday (July 19).
