IND Vs ENG, 2nd Test Preview: Shubman Gill Urges India's Batters To 'Take More Responsibility' At Edgbaston

India captain Shubman Gill has urged his batters to "take more responsibility" heading into their second Test against England at Edgbaston. 

England emerged victorious by five wickets from the first Test at Headingley, which saw them complete their second-highest successful run chase in the format (371 runs), having also chased a target of 378 to beat India in 2022.

But the hosts were helped by India's batting collapses, becoming the first team in first-class history to win a match in which they had five centuries. 

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Gill, Rishabh Pant (twice) and KL Rahul all impressed with their respective tons across both innings, but it was those around them who faltered.

Indeed, in their first innings, India were 430-3 before losing seven wickets for 31 runs. After returning to the crease, they nosedived from 340-3 to being all out for 364. 

In addition, India also dropped 10 catches throughout the match, their most in a men's Test since November 2011 (also 10 versus West Indies). 

But Gill insisted that lessons had been learnt from his captaincy debut, saying: "When we were batting, I felt I could have, now looking back at it, with the kinds of shots I played, I felt I could have batted a little bit more, added another 50 runs with Rishabh [Pant]. 

"That was my learning from when I was batting."

Gill struck a stunning 147 from 227 deliveries in the first innings but was only able to follow that up with eight after being bowled out by Brydon Carse.

He became the fifth India captain to hit a century in his first Test in charge, following Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Virat Kohli.

But when asked if the lower order had been spoken to regarding batting responsibly, Gill again shifted the spotlight onto himself. 

"Definitely [chats have been had]," Gill said. "It's been one of the things that we always talk about, especially with our batting depth.

"The lower order sometimes isn't able to contribute as much as the other teams.

"Having said that, you can also look at the other side as well. I was batting on 147 and the way I got out, maybe I could have scored 50 more in partnership with Rishabh.

"If you get a good ball and you get out, that's fine, but once you are set and you know that you don't really have that much depth in your batting order, maybe the top order could take a little bit more responsibility and bat the opposition completely out of the game.

"So I think these are different perspectives to look at the game, but definitely your lower order when your last five or six don't contribute as much, then it becomes easier for the opposition to come back in the game."

India have won only one of their last nine men's Tests (D1 L7) – a 295-run victory against Australia in November 2024. They are winless in their five matches since then (D1 L4). 

The last time they recorded a longer run without a win in the format was a nine-match span (D3 L6) from July 2014 to August 2015.