Before the India tour of England kicked off, the men in baggy blues were struggling in the longest and toughest format of the game.

Look Back：India’s Test Struggle

It all began with a humiliating whitewash at home against New Zealand, followed by a 3-1 series defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25. That loss officially ended their hopes of qualifying for the World Test Championship final. To make matters worse, just before the all-important England series began, two stalwarts of Indian cricket — Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli — announced their retirements from Test cricket. Their decisions left a significant void in experience and leadership, raising major concerns for the selectors and team management. They were forced to make bold choices and turn to youth to guide the team forward.

New Zealand wrap up a remarkable Test series with a 3-0 whitewash over India following a thrilling win in Mumbai 👏 #WTC25 | 📝 #INDvNZ: https://t.co/XMfjP9Wm9s pic.twitter.com/vV9OwFnObv

— ICC (@ICC) November 3, 2024

In a brave move, the selectors handed over the captaincy to Shubman Gill, giving the young batter the opportunity to lead India through this challenging transition phase. Under his leadership, the team travelled to England as underdogs, a squad in flux with much to prove. The first Test began with promise. On a pitch offering little help to the bowlers, India’s batters rose to the occasion and posted a mammoth first-innings total. It was a commanding start that seemed to set the tone for the rest of the match.

India captain Shubman Gill outlines his vision for the dressing room 👌

More from #ENGvIND 📲 https://t.co/nEcRCEH9h2 pic.twitter.com/jSazJx5ok4

— ICC (@ICC) June 20, 2025

However, what followed was both shocking and disappointing. Despite their strong batting performance, India went on to lose the match, setting two unwanted records in the process — the highest run in a Test loss and the most runs scored in a loss. Now, the question arises: how did India manage to lose from such a dominant position? It’s a question the team management must answer quickly. We feel the following reasons might be a point of concern for Shubman Gill and his men before the second test begins on the 3rd of July.

Question 1：No Support from Tailenders

In the first innings of the opening Test match between India and England, Team India were cruising towards a big score when Gill and Pant were playing. When Shubman Gill handed over his wicket to England, the scoreboard read 430/4. The next six Indian wickets fell for just 41 runs, meaning that the visitors had lost a huge opportunity to take the match away from England in the first innings.

Something similar happened in the second innings of the Indian team when they were setting a target for the hosts to chase. Being in a fantastic position at 287/4, the tail and the lower middle order failed to capitalise, and the next six wickets were down after adding only 77 runs to the total score. No support from tailenders was a major reason for India’s most runs scored in a loss record. Moreover, in the first innings of England’s batting, the Indian team allowed the English tail to score runs at a rapid pace, which dented their lead halfway through the match.

Question 2：Poor Fielding and Dropped Catches

One of the best fielding sides in world cricket showed an extremely poor display of fielding in the match and dropped a lot of catches, continuing their highest run in a Test loss. Yashasvi Jaiswal himself dropped three catches in the first innings which were not very difficult to hold on to.

India drop their fifth chance of the game – it’s been five years since they dropped more opportunities in a single Test innings. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/fnAUazVWvb

— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) June 22, 2025

There were also instances where the Indian team did blunders and lost key moments during the game. For instance, Jasprit Bumrah had Harry Brook on his way to the dugout very early in the innings, but it turned out to be a no ball, and Brook went on to score 99 runs in his innings. If India are to break their streak of highest runs in a Test loss, they need to immediately address this concern and start holding on to some catches and winning crucial moments during the game.

Question 3：Inexperienced Bowling Attack

Apart from Jasprit Bumrah, no other Indian bowler looked lethal in the match against England. Mohammad Siraj bowled beautifully in the second innings and was unlucky to not have any wickets against his name. However, the rest of the bowling attack looked helpless apart from the odd special delivery. In the absence of Bumrah, who is highly unlikely to be a part of more than three Test matches this series, it is going to be an uphill task for the Indian pace battery to get those 20 wickets which are necessary to win a Test match.

Question 4：Team Transition

Another reason for India’s huge loss, with most runs scored in a loss, is maybe the transition phase through which the team is going. The experienced Indian players are no longer a part of the squad, and the youngsters are still seeing their way through in the team. These players will learn along the way and take Indian cricket to the next level.

We are ready to compete 🤜🤛

Captain Shubman Gill takes guard 🔝 #TeamIndia | #ENGvIND | @ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/aTPiP26EJC

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 20, 2025

Conclusion

The above reasons are enough to explain why India’s highest run in a test loss is nothing but a result of poor on-field execution and complacency by a few players. If they want to do something magical and maintain the standards of Indian cricket, working on these factors is the need of the hour.

Related Match

ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test of the India tour of England series on 07/02 at 03:30 PM IST