Gill 'extremely proud' of India's lower-order fight

India captain Shubman Gill took pride in his team's resilience during the gripping final day of the Lord's Test.

After India were reduced to 82 for 7 just before lunch, their lower order fought valiantly to drag the game into the final session. India eventually fell short by 22 runs as England took a 2-1 lead in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

"I'm extremely proud, this is as close as a Test match can get," Gill said at the post-match presentation. "Five days of hard-fought cricket, comes down to the last session, last wicket. I'm extremely proud."

When Shoaib Bashir dismissed Mohammed Siraj to seal victory, Ravindra Jadeja was left stranded on 61, a heroic vigil that lasted 181 deliveries, with the standout aspect being his marshalling of the lower order. He put on 30 with Nitish Kumar Reddy, 35 with Jasprit Bumrah, and 23 with Siraj.

"He's very experienced," Gill said of Jadeja. "We didn't want to give him any message. He was batting brilliantly with the tail. Wanted him and the tail to bat as long as possible."

Gill said India had let themselves down late on the fourth day when they lost three quick wickets - Karun Nair, Gill himself and nightwatcher Akash Deep - in a dramatic last half-hour, slipping from 42 for 1 to 58 for 4. Gill felt that one "50-run partnership" from the top order could have helped them knock off the target.

"The last one hour that we played [on day four], I think we could have applied ourselves a bit better, especially the last two wickets that fell," Gill said. "Even this morning, the way they came up with a plan, we were hoping for one 50-run partnership, if we got it from the top order, it would've been easy for us."

Did they have any hope after Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Washington Sundar all fell in the first half-hour on Monday? "There was always hope, as long as there's batting," he said. "[Needed] one 50-run partnership. The target wasn't massive, one 50-60-run partnership and we were right back into the game."

Gill also identified Pant's run out in the first innings, by a direct hit from Ben Stokes, as a pivotal moment in the game. Pant and Rahul had added a century partnership, putting India on track for a sizeable lead. However, in a bid to get Rahul on strike so he could reach his century before lunch, Pant attempted a quick single only to be run out for 74.

"Definitely," Gill said when asked if the run out proved crucial. "At one point, I thought if we get a lead of 80-100, it might be crucial. We knew on the fifth day on this wicket, it won't be easy to chase 150-200. Thought if we can get a lead of 80-100, we would be in a good position."