India captain Shubman Gill dismissed the notion that his sledging of the England batters on Day 3 of the third Test shifted the momentum of the match. Gill confronted Zak Crawley late on Day 3 for his time-wasting tactics, asking him to be brave and bat. As India ended up losing the Test by a narrow margin of 22 runs on Day 5, Gill was asked if him going at Crawley gave England extra motivation to defeat them.
However, the India captain denied such claims, saying that five minutes can’t define the hard work of five days. He mentioned that Rishabh Pant’s run out just before lunch on Day 3 was the actual turning point of the match, as until that moment they thought of taking a 50-100-run lead in the first innings.
“No, five minutes can’t define five days of hard work. If you ask me about key moments, that wouldn’t even be in my top five. For us, Rishabh’s run-out was more crucial. At one point, we felt we could get a 50–100 run lead, which would’ve been massive on Day 5 when batting gets tough. That was a big turning point. Had we secured that lead, we could’ve put England on the back foot. By the end of Day 3, the match was level. From there, the team that batted better was going to win,” said Gill in the post-match press conference.
Furthermore, Gill stated that at times emotions get the better of individuals as both teams are fighting in the middle and giving their all to win the match.
“Obviously, there was a lot of tension and emotion. You’re giving everything—mentally, physically. So sometimes, things can get heated on both sides. But that’s what makes it exciting and challenging. The next time we face them, there’s mutual admiration. Both teams gave their best to win. When you’re in the heat of the moment, you’re doing everything you can for your team. That emotion is part of what makes Test cricket so special,” he added.
Meanwhile, after losing the third Test, India are now 1-2 behind in the series with the fourth Test beginning from July 23. Captain Gill will be under tremendous pressure as India can’t afford to lose any more matches or the series will be gone. It remains to be seen if Jasprit Bumrah plays the next game, given that there’s enough gap for the next match.
