England Great Takes Brutal Jibe At Shubman Gill And Co, Calls Them 'Inexperienced Group'

Former England cricket team skipper Michael Vaughan poked fun at Shubman Gill and Co for their tendency to lose wickets just before a session break. It was something that emerged as a pattern during the first three Test matches against England and during the match at Lord's, it once again happened on couple of occasions. The wicket of Nitish Kumar Reddy fell on the final ball of the first session on Day 5 and it proved to be pivotal as England went on to narrowly clinch the match. Vaughan taunted the Indian cricket team by saying that they can only have the lunch 'only if they are dismissed'.

"They obviously like the food here. The thing about the lunches is that they can have them if they're obviously dismissed. That's just (loss of) concentration. You've played enough cricket to understand that. The more you think about batting differently towards the end of a session, the more you're probably going to get out. You've just got to naturally play. Just naturally play. That's just a mentality thing that this team has to get better at. I guess the inexperience of the group; They're an inexperienced group."

"Gill will be slightly concerned about that collapse, the first innings collapse down the back end, the little collapse last night and then another three quick wickets this morning. You don't win many Test matches when you lose so many wickets in clusters. That's something that India can't afford in the last two games," Vaughan said during a conversation with Dinesh Karthik on Cricbuzz.

Earlier, Shubman Gill lauded senior allrounder Ravindra Jadeja and the team's lower order for keeping the contest alive and pushing the Lord's Test into the final session, with India coming close to a remarkable victory before falling short by 22 runs.

Resuming from 58/4, England's fast bowlers were right on the money as India were eight down when lunch break came. But Ravindra Jadeja refused to buckle in, hitting a gritty and magnificent 61 not out off 181 balls, stitching patient and resolute stands of 30, 35 and 23 with Nitish Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, respectively, to drag India close.

Despite Jadeja and the lower-order giving it their all, India were so close yet so far to registering a miraculous victory by being bowled out for 170 in 74.5 overs.

Gill reserved special praise for the standout all-rounder, who notched up his fourth consecutive half-century of the series and played a crucial role on the final day, scoring 61 of the team's 99 runs while facing 30 of the 55 overs during his gritty stay at the crease.

(With IANS inputs)

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