Inexperienced bowling and player’s collective inability to dominate in crunch situations cost India the ODI series against England, captain Shubman Gill said after the 27-run loss in the decider on Sunday.

India conceded 387 runs and could only pick three wickets in the first innings. Despite Rohit Sharma’s 138 and Virat Kohli’s 74, the side was unable to get to the target and lost the three-match series 1-2.

“Our bowling is a little inexperienced, and I think we were put under the pump in this match, and we didn’t respond well,” Gill told reporters.

“I don’t think we started well in the PowerPlay. We gave away too many loose balls and were always kind of chasing the game, trying to take wickets and create something, which didn’t happen for us.

Then, in the last three overs, we gave away 60 runs. That’s where the momentum completely shifted. At one point, we were probably looking at restricting them to 340-350, but they got close to 390. And chasing 390, no matter what surface you’re batting on, is never easy,” he added.

Gill assessed that his side remained in the game for 80 percent of the time but lost the control of proceedings in crucial moments.

“My assessment of the series is that we’ve had a pretty decent one. Even in both the matches that we lost, we were in the game for the majority of the time.

I think it’s all about how long we can stay consistently in the game. It almost feels like we’re in the contest for about 80% of it. Then, in the crunch moments — the moments that dictate the game — that’s where we’re missing the trick.

In those moments, having an experienced bowling group or batting group helps you a lot. I think we need to get a little smarter, maybe in assessing the conditions,” Gill explained.

India’s chase faltered at the backend and part of the reason was the slowness of the pitch. England used part-time spinners like Jacob Bethell to make use of the conditions while Sam Curran made merry with slower variations.

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However, the visitor opted to play four pacers — Arshdeep Singh (0/72), Prasidh Krishna (2/69), Prince Yadav (1/79), and Gurnoor Brar (0/97) — and lone spinner in Axar Patel (0/61).

Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav, India’s premier wrist spinner, did not feature in any of the three games.

Gill explained that India read the surfaces as more conducive to fast bowlers than spinners and weren’t expecting Lord’s pitch to slow down in the second innings.

“In the matches we had played prior to this, we had seen that the wickets weren’t offering that much to the spinners. Whenever the spinners came on, we felt like we had to go into a defensive mode. But when the fast bowlers were bowling, it always felt like something was happening,” Gill said.

“That was the thought process behind not playing an extra spinner and instead going with another fast bowler.”

However, the Indian captain conceded that in hindsight, playing an extra spinner would’ve been a better option as the surface got slower.

India was kept in the chase with Rohit’s century — first by an Indian at Lord’s in ODIs — and Gill was in awe of the former captain’s knock.

“The way he paced his innings and then accelerated after getting to 60-70, I think it was great to watch.”

But when asked about Rohit’s future, Gill said he wasn’t aware of any developments.

“He’s not told us anything. I think it’s all out there in the media, but there hasn’t been any discussion like that with us,” Gill said.

Published on Jul 20, 2026