"Shubman Gill's confidence is rock-bottom" - Aakash Chopra on India's unsuccessful chase in 1st Test vs England
Aakash Chopra reckons Shubman Gill's lack of confidence contributed to his dismissal in India's second innings of the first Test against England in Hyderabad.
The visitors set Rohit Sharma and company a 231-run target on the fourth day of the series opener on Sunday, January 28. Gill failed to open his account as the hosts were bundled out for 202 to lose the game by 28 runs.
Chopra reflected on India's chase in a video shared on his YouTube channel. As for Yashasvi Jaiswal and Gill's dismissals, he said:
"I had said India won't be able to do this run chase if Rohit gets out and it got proven as well. Yashasvi got out. It would have been great if he had scored runs but he is a young kid, how much burden you will put on his shoulders. I was thinking that there is a possibility of him getting out on this bad pitch."
"Shubman Gill's confidence is rock-bottom at the moment. Shubman Gill might have an average close to or less than 20 in his last 11 innings. The highest is not 40 and he is struggling against left-arm spin. He went with hard hands and got caught out at silly point," the former India opener added.
Gill has aggregated 173 runs at an average of 17.30 in his last 11 Test innings. A 36-run knock in India's first innings of the Cape Town Test against South Africa is his best effort in this period.
"Rohit Sharma's dismissal was the game-changing moment" - Aakash Chopra
![Rohit Sharma fell lbw to Tom Hartley. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/01/5371a-17065007340737-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra feels Rohit Sharma's dismissal was the match-turning moment. He stated (5:20):
"KL Rahul came and managed for some time but then Tom Hartley dismissed Rohit Sharma. In my opinion, Rohit Sharma's dismissal was the game-changing moment for India. India then sent Axar Patel, tried to do something different."
The reputed commentator observed that India lost a flurry of wickets after Tea. He elaborated:
"India lost Axar Patel's wicket immediately after Tea. After that, they lost KL Rahul. Then it was just downhill. (Ravindra) Jadeja got run out. Shreyas also fell prey to Jack Leach. There was a partnership between (Srikar) Bharat and (Ravichandran) Ashwin, and it seemed like things could change."
Chopra added that Srikar Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin, who strung together a 57-run eighth-wicket partnership, lost their wickets in contrasting fashions. He explained:
"Both Ashwin and Bharat were playing well. Bharat scored 28 but he got a good delivery - came in, went out after pitching, and hit the stumps. It was a wicket-taking ball. Ashwin also went as soon as he (Bharat) got out. He too scored 28 runs and got out while playing a very bad shot."
Chopra noted that Mohammed Siraj cannot be blamed for losing his wicket in the final over of the day's play while attempting a wild slog. However, he opined that things could have been different had Ashwin not thrown away his wicket similarly, considering that Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah added 25 runs for the last wicket.