Sanjay Manjrekar provided his assessment of India’s performance during the final day of the 1st Test against England. The match saw India struggling on Day 5, with England reaching 181/0 before the play was affected by rain. England then successfully chased down the target, winning the match and taking the lead in the series.
Manjrekar gave his analysis, stating, “Are England suddenly favourites? Before the session, I had it at 70-30 in India’s favour. After this, I’d call it 50-50. Not dramatically down to 30-70, because we still have the Jasprit Bumrah factor and England’s unpredictable weather. The pitch had gone to sleep-it had nothing to do with how India bowled. Even Bumrah got nothing out of it. Maybe it was the heavy roller effect. Hopefully, after lunch, the surface livens up and India can pick up a couple of wickets. But England’s real threat is their temperament in a fourth-innings chase.”
The 1st Test of the series, played at Headingley, Leeds, concluded with England defeating India. England managed to achieve the second-highest successful chase in Test cricket on English soil, pursuing a target of 371 with the loss of only five wickets. Ben Duckett’s 149 runs were a highlight. India made history by becoming the first team in 148 years to have five centurions in a Test match but still lose. Rishabh Pant scored centuries in both innings, while Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and KL Rahul also reached the milestone. This defeat was the first Test loss for Gill as captain.