‘Tailenders are not the best batsmen’: Shubman Gill laments India’s middle-order collapse after defeat

India captain Shubman Gill cuts a disappointed figure after his team squandered a commanding position to suffer a four-wicket defeat against England in the second ODI at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Thursday, July 16, 2026.After reaching 180/3, India suffered a dramatic middle-order collapse to be bowled out for just 233. All England went down comfortably thanks to an unbeaten 99 from Joe Root, who completed one run short of a century after Gus Atkinson hit the winning points. The win helped England level the three-match series 1-1.Reflecting on India’s batting collapse, Gill admitted that his side fell short of the total they had targeted.“Quite disappointing to be honest with you. We thought 300-310 would be a good total after 25 overs. We were in a good position but lost too many wickets in the middle overs. Our tailenders aren’t the best batsmen but we expected a bit more from our lower middle order. We couldn’t capitalize on the little start we got there,” let’s hope. Gill said after the game.

Gill points to Washington Sundar’s injury

Talking about Washington Sundar’s injury, Gill admitted that it had disrupted India’s plans, though he stopped short of blaming himself for the defeat.“He’s a key part of our team. I think he got hurt when he went into the middle of the game. We had to pass our main bowlers throughout the innings and change our strategies. It caused us to lose a bit of momentum but I don’t think it made a big difference because the ball was doing enough for the fast bowlers,” he added.

Root chased down the target with ease

India squandered a commanding position after being asked to bat first at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens. Despite a solid 114 between Virat Kohli (65) and Shreyas Iyer (66) that took the visitors to 180/3, a dramatic middle-order collapse saw them lose their last seven wickets for 53 and were bowled out for 233. Jofra Archer (3/47) and Gus Atkinson (3/47 stars with the ball untbe, Bustenrah) 20 helped India to cross the 230 run mark.England’s chase got off to a disastrous start when Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Ben Duckett with the first ball of the innings before Prasidh Krishna reduced the home side to 8/2. However, Joe Root anchored the chase with a brilliant 99 off 133 balls* and received valuable support from Will Jacks (30), Sam Curran (26) and *Gus Atkinson (23)**. Atkinson hit the winning boundary to seal a four-wicket win and leave Root agonizingly stranded by a century.The result leveled the three-match ODI series at 1-1, with the decider scheduled to be played at Lord’s on 19 July.