After a devastating loss to England in the first Test of the series at Headingley, India head coach Gautam Gambhir addressed the media and accepted reporters’ questions during the post-match press conference to reflect on critical and crucial moments of the game.
Despite the loss, what stood out for the Indian team were the century scored by the squad’s specialised hitters, including opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal (101) and captain Shubman Gill (147), as well as KL Rahul (137). Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant (134 and 117) broke records by scoring century in both innings.
A journalist at the media-only event advised Gambhir to think of Rishabh Pant’s knocks as a positive lesson from the Headingley match. “Talking about something positive. How was it to observe Rishabh Pant getting knocked around, and how, as vice captain and one of the leaders in this group, has he accepted that responsibility and role?” he said.
The 43-year-old objected to the way the question was posed, stating that other players scoring century were just as crucial in getting the series started. The Delhi native retaliated against the interviewer and corrected the way he phrased his question, while also reflecting on significant individual performances from the game that helped them open the series on a positive note.
“There are also three more centuries. Both of these are significant advantages. I would have enjoyed it if you had mentioned Yashasvi [Jaiswal], Shubman [Gill] on his captaincy debut, KL [Rahul], and Rishabh. Five centuries in a Test match is a terrific start, to be honest. And hopefully your question could have been better,” the head coach said vehemently.
Reporter: Positive by Rishabh Pant 2 centuries, How was it to witness the vice-captain scoring two centuries ?
Gautam Gambhir: Jaiswal, Gill, and Rahul have also scored centuries. pic.twitter.com/X8aU9FY74c
— RP17 Gang™ (@RP17Gang) June 25, 2025
Bumrah took a five-wicket haul as well: Gautam Gambhir
The head coach further went on to credit ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah for his magnificent spell with the ball in the first innings, where he took five wickets to break the back of the English batting line-up. In the second innings, though, Bumrah returned wicketless, as the Ben Stokes-led side clinched a victory by five wickets during the last session of the final day.
“But then again, there are great positives. We had a five [wickets] from Jasprit Bumrah [in the first innings] as well. But eventually, ultimately, everything boils down to that if you don’t get the results, we go out there to get the results. Yes, individual performances are good. If you want those big runs from our top six, seven, which we got in this test match, we got a five from Bumrah. But at the end of the day, you go out there to win a Test match. And unfortunately, that wasn’t the result. So we take it up our chin and move forward,” he added.
India
