Shubman Gill was left to rue India's missed chances in their first Test defeat to England after failing to build on the solid foundations laid by their top order. 

England were left needing 350 runs for victory heading into the final day at Headingley, aiming to achieve their second-highest chase in Test cricket. 

And they were able to do so thanks to Ben Duckett's 149 from 170 deliveries, though England's cause was aided by India's mistakes throughout the course of the match. 

In their first innings, India lost their last seven wickets for 41 runs and in the second, they lost their last six wickets for 31 thanks to Josh Tongue's blistering bowling. 

But there were also mistakes in the field. Indeed, India dropped 10 catches throughout the match, their most in a men's Test since November 2011 (also 10 versus West Indies). 

It was also as many drops as they had managed in their last six games in the long format combined, though Gill was quick to focus on India's struggles with the bat. 

"I think yesterday we were thinking that we're going to give [a target of] around 430, 435 and then declare," Gill said at the post-match presentation.

"But unfortunately, I think our last six wickets scored around 20-25 [31] runs, which is never a good sign.

"But even today, I thought after their brilliant opening partnership, we did have our chances and just didn't go our way in this match."

England win the opening Test by 5 wickets in Headingley#TeamIndia will aim to bounce back in the 2nd Test

Scorecard https://t.co/CuzAEnBkyu#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/9YcrXACbHn

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 24, 2025

The result also saw India become the first team to lose a Test match with five batters scoring centuries (Yashasvi Jaiswal, Gill, Rishabh Pant twice and KL Rahul). 

Gill added that India are looking to avoid such collapses and improve in the field in the remaining four Test matches.

"Yes, that was something that we spoke about," Gill said. "But when you are out there in the middle, it happens so quickly.

"And I think it will be one of those things that we have to rectify in the upcoming matches.

"Chances don't come easy, especially on wickets like these, and we dropped quite a few catches.

"But I think we have got a young team, still a learning one and hopefully, in the next matches, we'll be able to improve on those aspects."

Despite their defeat, Gill took the time to laud Pant for an imperious showing across both innings, with his displays putting him in the history books for India. 

With respective scores of 132 and 118, Pant became the first Indian batter to score multiple centuries in a Test match in England. 

He's also the fourth Indian batter to score multiple tons in a Test match in a SENA nation, after Vijay Hazare, Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli. 

2 - @RishabhPant17 (134 and 118) is the first India batter to score multiple centuries in a Test match in England; he's the fourth India batter to score multiple tons in a Test match in a SENA nation after Vijay Hazare (AUS), Rahul Dravid (NZ) and @imVkohli (AUS). Fearless. pic.twitter.com/HqurggrFlq

— OptaJeev (@OptaJeev) June 23, 2025

Pant's 252 runs in both innings at Headingley was also the most by an Indian wicketkeeper in a Test, surpassing Budhi Kunderan's 230 against England in Chennai in 1964.

"He was brilliant. Our top five were brilliant. We still have a young team and a few catches didn't go our way so that's where the game slipped away," Gill concluded. 

"Going into this game we thought the wicket would offer more than when we played at Edgbaston.

"We bowled well in the first session, but once the Dukes ball gets old, it is easy to score runs. We have a lot of practice sessions organised in the break."

The second Test gets underway at Edgbaston on July 2, which is followed by fixtures at Lord's, Old Trafford and the Oval.