IND vs ENG 1st Test: How many runs did dropped catches cost India in Headingley Test match?

Contributor
Aishik Das
IND vs ENG 1st Test: How many runs did dropped catches cost India in Headingley Test match? image

The first Test between India vs. England at Headingly saw several catches dropped by the Indian side, which could go on to hurt their chances of winning the match.

Jasprit Bumrah, who seemed to bundle the English batters almost single-handedly, saw his efforts undone by the inconsistency of his teammates on the field.

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India started well with the early wicket of Zack Crawley, but Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope took matters into their own hands to stabilize the innings for the Three Lions.

Duckett scored 62 before falling prey to India's main pacer, while Ollie Pope went on to score a century on the back of dropped catches by the Indian fielders.

India also had a chance to get the important wicket of Harry Brook on a duck, but Bumrah's no-ball proved to be the spoilsport. The English batter went on to score 99 runs before losing his wicket to Prasidh Krishna.

In this article, The Sporting News takes a look at the number of runs the dropped catches have cost India so far.

Check: Headingley: Top 10 successful Test run chases ranked

IND vs ENG 1st Test: How many runs did dropped catches cost India?

Duckett was dropped on 15 by Yashasvi Jaiswal in the slip cordon late in Day 2, as the youngster found it difficult to hold on to what seemed to be a regulation catch. The batter went on to add 47 more runs before Bumrah uprooted his off stump.

Pope got a breather on 62, as he was dropped, again by Jaiswal in the slips, off Bumrah's bowling. The batter went on to add 44 more runs and scored an important century in the match.

After surviving a scare early on in the innings, Brook was again given a lifeline on 83. Jaiswal was the culprit this time too, dropping another simple chance on Day 3, which worsened matters for India. Brook added another 16 runs before ultimately losing his wicket on 99.

MORE: Vaughan slams India's fielding - ‘Should’ve had 150-run lead’

As of the end of Day 3, India gave away a total of 190 extra runs to England due to the dropped catches and no-balls. The lead could have been a bigger one had India taken all their chances properly.

Jaiswal dropped three catches in total, with Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja also slipping up when it mattered the most. Four of those chances came off the bowling of Bumrah, whose frustration was visible after the missed chances to dismiss Brook. 

This is the first time since 2019 that India have dropped more than five catches in the first innings of a Test match -- a record that the fielding unit won't be too proud of.