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Scared Of Bazball! Gill's Late Declaration Set To Prove Costly As India Face Washout Threat

Anurag Dasgupta

Gill to be blamed for late declaration [Source: AP Photo] Gill to be blamed for late declaration [Source: AP Photo]

What is Bazball? Cricket fans associate it with the name of England's head coach, Brendon McCullum as the former Kiwi batter used to play an aggressive brand of cricket and had instilled the same mentality in the England Test team players, three years ago. However, Bazball is more than just being aggressive. It is a cultural change, promoting a positive environment where every player can express themselves freely.

In the ongoing tour, the visiting Team India has already tasted a glimpse of it as the hosts, England chased down 371 in the Headingley Test without showing any signs of nervousness. It was their self-belief which prompted the England team to go after the target and achieve it against the Indian team.

More than the dent on the scoreline, England inflicted a psychological dent to the Indian team which they carried forward to the second Test in Edgbaston as India missed a trick on Day 4 of the second Test.

How the psychological dent affected Shubman Gill, the captain

The Edgbaston curator dished out a 'road' for the 2nd Test match as the Indian batters enjoyed their outing, particularly Shubman Gill, who slammed 430 runs in the combined two innings. On Day 4, India had a healthy first-innings lead and it was expected that they would declare their innings once their lead crossed the 450-run mark.

However, to everyone's surprise, the Indian side kept on batting, as they frustrated the England bowlers and made them toil hard as they finally declared with a solid lead of 608. However, this batting approach could come to haunt Gill as the India side aims to level the series.

In Test cricket, the highest successful run-chase was completed by West Indies (4180 Vs Australia in 2003. Anything more than that has never been chased in red-ball cricket and India should have declared at around this target to have a go at the England batters. However, Indian batters wanted to be 'extra safe' in their approach as they had already felt the wrath of the English batters in Headingley.

Bazball is all about fearless approach and India knew that anything in the region of 400-450 and England would have fancied their chances. Hence, Gill and his men wanted to eliminate the glimmer of hope for the home side.

Why this mistake could come back to haunt India?

As per Accuweather, there was rain prediction and it came true as more than half of the first session was wiped off due to rain, and it allowed the English batters to have a breather. Rain could still halt the play on Day 5 and if the match is a drawn affair due to this reason, the blame should be put on the Indian think-tank as they had the match and the win in the palm of their hands.

It seems as if the psychological dent from the first Test was lurking in the mind of Captain Gill as he took his time to take India to an ultra-safe place and then decided to declare. 

Had the innings been declared a bit earlier on Day 4, Indian bowlers would have had more chances of troubling the English batters and instead of three wickets, the home side could have been five down at the start of Day 5.