According to Michael Vaughan, India’s captain made a brave decision when the pressure was on.
On the same pitch where India’s batting collapsed, England’s openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett later took control. Their aggressive approach had the visitors under pressure, but India bounced back brilliantly — and Vaughan credited Shubman Gill for that turnaround. The former England captain believes it was Gill’s smart leadership that helped India restrict the hosts to a modest total.
On Friday, England bowled India out for just 224 in their first innings on a green Oval pitch. Then, their opening pair launched a flying start. Crawley and Duckett batted with a T20 mindset, racing to 92 runs in just 13 overs.
Duckett, who scored 43 off 38 balls with 2 sixes and 5 fours, was eventually dismissed by Akash Deep, breaking the opening partnership. England ended the first session at 109 for 1.
At that point, it seemed England were heading towards a big total. But everything changed in the second session. Prasidh Krishna removed Crawley, who had made a rapid 64 off 57 balls with 14 boundaries. Then, Mohammad Siraj delivered two brilliant deliveries that nipped back in and trapped both Ollie Pope and Joe Root lbw.
Siraj and Prasidh’s superb spells triggered a collapse, as England kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Thanks to Harry Brook’s 53, they managed to take a slim 23-run lead.
Vaughan highlighted Gill’s “bold” captaincy as a key factor in India’s comeback after the first session. Commentating for BBC Sport, the former England skipper tried to unpack the young Indian captain’s tactical approach.
“(In the second day’s) afternoon session, Shubman Gill’s captaincy was outstanding. He brought fielders up and challenged the English batters — ‘If you play good shots, you’ll be rewarded with runs. If not, we might get a couple of wickets.’ Ollie Pope, who was playing really well, and Joe Root, who was batting in his usual style — Siraj got both out with two fantastic deliveries. Those two wickets in the afternoon were huge moments.”
