India captain Shubman Gill pointed to Rishabh Pant's dismissal in their first innings as the turning point in their defeat to England at Lord's.
England edged a dramatic final day in their third Test with India, beating the tourists by 22 runs to take a 2-1 lead in their five-match series.
India lost six wickets on the fifth day, with Mohammed Siraj the last to fall after the ball rolled back onto the stumps after he blocked Shoaib Bashir's delivery.
Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah frustrated the hosts for long periods during the contest as India threatened a blockbuster finish.
Indeed, Jadeja and Bumrah faced 132 balls in their partnership, the second most by any Indian pairing for the ninth wicket in a men's test away from home (142 by VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble against South Africa in 2001).
Despite their second-innings collapse, which saw Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer take centre stage, Gill insisted that the defining moment came in their first innings.
KL Rahul and Pant put together an impressive 141-run partnership before the latter was run out by England captain Stokes just before lunch on day three.
Pant's attempts to get a quick single to allow Rahul, who was on 99, to get back on strike fell short.
Gill thought the pair could have put more runs together to help build a first-innings lead, but also conceded he thought Siraj and Jadeja would get them over the line.
"The most important moment for us was the Rishabh run out," Gill said. "It was an error of judgment rather than [Rahul] thinking I need to get my 100 now.
"He might have had a word [with Pant] about getting the century prior to lunch, because when a batsman is on 99, he feels some pressure. But I don't agree the run out was caused due to the personal milestone.
"Rishabh called for the run and the danger end was for KL, but it was an error of judgment, which can happen by any batsman.
"At one point, we felt that we could take a 50-100-run lead. We were aware that batting on day five would not be that easy, so the lead we get in the first innings would have been better for us.
"We were quite optimistic when Siraj [and Jadeja] were batting, that if we just go up to the second new ball and if we have just 12-15 [left to score] with the second new ball, you never know, you know.
"A couple of boundaries here and there and you never know, and you are right back on the top."
