“Chasing 371 runs in the fourth innings — regardless of pitch conditions — is never easy. But what truly matters is intent, and I felt that intent was slightly lacking in Team India’s bowling. When this team went abroad, we had said that it’s okay even if they lose, no problem — they will come back having learned a lot. It’s a young team — but that applies to the batting. When it comes to bowling, this team is still just as experienced and capable. So, better things were expected from this bowling unit.”

Harbhajan Singh

“I believe the bowling could have been much better, and even the field placements didn’t look particularly attacking — it didn’t seem like there was a strong attempt to get wickets. They played a bit of a waiting game. We saw several times that the slip cordon was removed, and there were no catching fielders. In my opinion, the bowling could have been a lot better — and chasing 371 runs is no small feat.”

Harbhajan Singh

“I think it’s a tough pill to swallow. You know, you don’t get into positions where you’re 430 for three and then blow it from there. They knew they had a chance to really take England out of the game — out of the contest — and then dictate terms. But you’ve got to learn from your mistakes. The first thing would be more fight from the tail. They’ll have to get into the nets, get the slingers to ram it in, get behind it, be stubborn, and put a price tag on their wicket. That’s number one.”

Ravi Shastri

“Number two, the catching. You know, you can’t do anything if you drop five catches in one innings and then again two or three in the second. Good sides will make you pay for it. And in England — you know how good England are, especially in a chase — they made India pay the price for it.”

Ravi Shastri

“Look, when you’re 430/3 in the first innings and then get all out for 471 — it means you’ve simply surrendered. You lost seven wickets for just 41 runs. That’s where the match started slipping. Then when you came out to field, you dropped five catches. If you’re going to drop catches, this is what happens in the end.”

Irfan Pathan

“If you hadn’t dropped those catches, if your last four or five batters hadn’t folded so easily, and if you had added at least 100 more runs, you could’ve sealed the match. In the first innings, you needed to score 550 — but you couldn’t. You needed to hold on to those catches — but you dropped five of them, and those were off Bumrah’s bowling. Bumrah should’ve had seven or eight wickets.”

Irfan Pathan

“He was the lone warrior, the only one picking up wickets — but wickets can only come from one end to a point. He also needs rest. He can’t keep bowling all the time. His fatigue was visible in the second innings. Look, if you keep bowling 20–25 overs in every innings, you will get tired. It felt like Bumrah was exhausted in the second innings. It was an off day — even Bumrah can have one. Every great bowler can. But he needs support. If you think you can win a series relying on a single bowler, that’s just wishful thinking. The other bowlers will have to step up.”

Irfan Pathan

“The number one reason will be the kind of collapses that happened. The difference is that their tail wags. When it happened like that in the first innings, you felt it might be better in the second innings, but it was exactly the same in the second innings as well. You were in a very strong position and were thinking of declaration, but one wicket, and you lost everything.”

Aakash Chopra

“This has not happened once but repeatedly, and I feel it will keep happening. It will be a point of discussion and a cause for concern. I am saying that because if Bumrah is playing, Siraj and Prasidh Krishna play with him, you have three No. 11s batting from Nos. 9 to 11.”

Aakash Chopra

“I thought I saw someone just finding his way, honestly. You’ve got to be very careful in the first Test match, the people he’s taken over from, Kohli, and then Rohit Sharma. I thought he didn’t quite have that on-field aura as the names I mentioned there. You look down on those two previous names, and you immediately see who was in charge of India.”

Nasser Hussain

“I looked down from the press box, the commentary position, there were a lot of captains; it was a bit captaincy by committee, which can happen in your early days as a leader because you’re still senior players like Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul want to try and help you out as much as possible. I thought he followed the ball a lot. I thought he was reactive as opposed to proactive.”

Nasser Hussain

“They lost the game due to two things that he couldn’t control. The slip cordon and the catching were poor — something India have done well in over the last two or three years. And the collapses concern me, because in India, they have a lower order with spin-bowling all-rounders — and have had for the last decade — who are magnificent: Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar Patel.”

Nasser Hussain

“In England, they are still looking, I think, for that seam-bowling all-rounder — someone like a Hardik Pandya, or going back to Ravi’s times, Kapil Dev or whoever. They are still searching for that lower-order bowler who can bat. And if they keep going seven for 41 and six for 30 or whatever, then this could be a quick series. They need runs down the order.”

Nasser Hussain