India could have had a fair chance of winning the Lord's Test if they had forced England into taking the second new ball - Shubman Gill said that they were "optimistic" of executing the plan until Mohammed Siraj played on in one of the most dramatic finishes in Test cricket.
England were 5.1 overs away from taking the second new ball when Siraj couldn't stop the ball from spinning back to knock off his bail after he had defended an offbreak from Shoaib Bashir. It ended a 23-run last-wicket partnership after Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah had added 35 in 22 overs. The partnerships frustrated Ben Stokes and his men, who were challenged by a soft Dukes ball, a lifeless pitch, and a Lord's crowd populated by mostly Indian fans.
"When Bumrah bhai and Jaddu bhai were batting, every five-six runs that we were scoring, we could see there was pressure coming on them [England]," Gill said in the press conference after the game. "And that's all it was: a small partnership of 30-40 runs could make such a huge difference. 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."
Instead, Gill and his men wandered around Lord's minutes after the defeat wondering what could have been. Proud match-winners like Bumrah, who had taken a five-for in the first innings, and Rishabh Pant, who ran himself out calling for a tight single just before lunch on the third day when on 74, stood with bowed heads.
In the afternoon session on the final day, after stoutly and patiently dealing with everything that Stokes and Co. threw at him, Bumrah finally succumbed to the mounting pressure, skying an easy catch off a short delivery from the England captain. Midway into the third over of his second spell on Monday, Stokes, after a long chat with Joe Root, adopted the short-ball plan against Bumrah. The slips and gully fielders were dispersed to the ropes with a leg-side-heavy (6-3 ) field. Bumrah almost attempted a hook off the first ball of this plan, which flew high over his head, and then shadow practised a ramp, which left Jadeja shaking his head at the other end.
Thereafter, though, Bumrah ignored such distractions, playing with soft hands, leaving what was not to be touched. Stokes would eventually bang 15 short or short-of-length deliveries in that spell, but Bumrah was not in control for just five deliveries.
But Bumrah ran out of patience and attempted a pull against a short ball pitched outside off stump to sky an easy catch. Stokes looked like a man in a trance. England were ecstatic. Bumrah took one step at a time as if he was walking on crushed glass back to the dressing room.
But Siraj, who walked in to loud boos from England fans, showed courage and heart to ally with Jadeja to resume India's quest for an unlikely win. He endured a painful blow to his left arm while trying to get out of the way against a short and fast Jofra Archer delivery. India were 23 adrift of the target at this point. A message was sent to the batters, which Gill talked about after the match: "When he got hit by Archer, if Jaddu bhai can play the whole over instead of leaving two balls every over. We thought the better chances for us if he [Siraj] plays the offspinner."
In the next over, Siraj stepped back to tap Bashir, but couldn't believe what happened next. He stood stunned even as Bashir set off on a victory run chased by his team-mates. At the other end, Jadeja looked up in agony. Siraj went down on his haunches, head down, which he would raise when Harry Brook walked up to. Siraj was numb, angry.
Asked if he had spoken with Siraj afterwards, Gill smiled, suggesting it was not the right moment.
Gill, though, doffed his hat to Jadeja, who scored his fourth fifty of the series. Upon reaching the milestone, he didn't unleash his usual wielding-the-sword celebration, knowing he still had a job to do.
Shubman Gill reflects on another memorable Test in this five-match series
"He is one of the most valuable players for India," Gill said. "The experience that he brings in, the skillset he brings with his bowling, batting and fielding makes him someone that is very rare and hard to find. The kind of composure he showed today was just tremendous to watch. Our lower order and tail have not been contributing that much in the previous two Tests but the character and courage that they showed was tremendous."
According to Gill, the most significant turning point for India was the Pant run out on Saturday. That run out, opener KL Rahul had admitted, was his mistake because he had told Pant a couple of overs prior to lunch, when he was on 97, that he wanted to get his century out of the way before the break. On the first ball of the last over before lunch, delivered by Bashir, Rahul failed to latch on to a loose ball and only took a single to move to 99. Two balls later, Pant called for a tight single with the sole aim of getting his partner back on strike, but instead was left sprawling on the turf after being beaten by a direct hit from Stokes.
Gill said that fourth-wicket stand, which had accounted for 141 runs, could have been extended and helped India take a crucial lead. Instead, India finished level with England's 387 in the first innings.
"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 bhai, but it was an error of judgment, which can happen by any batsman.
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"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."
By the end Saturday, the third day, the match had become a one-innings shootout and Gill said that the pressure was always going to be on the team batting last. It played out exactly that way as India's batters failing twice, first in the last hour on Sunday and then the first hour on Monday, which left them at 82 for 7. Central to the downfall was Stokes, who bowled a marathon spell of 14 overs.
Gill acknowledged that Stokes had elevated Lord's to a theatre again, pushing his body and mind to the limit.
"You have to give credit where it's due," Gill said. "The spell that he bowled, 11 [14] overs on the trot, never easy. The kind of efforts that him and his team put in, it was truly commendable to see. You give out your everything, and there are going to be moments where it is going to be heat and a lot of emotions involved, but at the end of the day, after a Test match like this, there's always admiration from both sides. They also gave their everything, we also tried out best, but they were the better team today."