India's troubled camp is already on the brink of meltdown and another defeat could see them unravel completely, writes LAWRENCE BOOTH

Gautam Gambhir did his best to remain civil after his side had blown a glittering chance to take a 1–0 lead into next week’s second Test at Edgbaston, but the mask slipped when an Indian journalist — obligingly looking for positives — mentioned Rishabh Pant’s two hundreds at Headingley.

India’s head coach is edgy by nature, has feistiness in his DNA. Instead of accepting the half-volley, he heckled the hack for failing to mention the centuries scored by Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul. Insisting the ‘question could have been better,’ Gambhir appeared to be living out his own frustration.

How had a team scoring five individual hundreds lost the Test? There have been more than 60,000 first-class games in all cricket, and this was the first such instance. No wonder he suddenly let rip.

India, the economic powerhouse of the global game and proud possessors of the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy, have now lost seven of their 11 Tests since Gambhir replaced Rahul Dravid — calmness personified — last July. And two of their three wins came at home to Bangladesh.

None of those defeats, though, will have stung quite like this, not even the improbable 3-0 loss to New Zealand in November that ended a 12-year unbeaten run at home. 

Lose in Birmingham, and this tour could unravel altogether. It is a scenario which, at 430 for three on the second day in Leeds, would have seemed ludicrous.

Central to India’s dilemma is the rawness of Gill, their 25-year-old first-time captain, the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah, their unique spearhead, and the relationship between them, as well as with Gambhir himself.

As the game approached its climax, Bumrah appeared to reject Gill’s suggestion that he enter the attack, with England still 30 short of victory and the second new ball two overs away.

Gill instead had to make do with Shardul Thakur, who had induced home nerves by removing Ben Duckett and Harry Brook in two balls but otherwise failed to justify his selection. As far as Bumrah was concerned, the game was up.

Afterwards, Gambhir confirmed India’s plan to play their best bowler in only three of the five Tests, in a bid to manage the back complaint that laid him low towards the end of the series in Australia in January.

But given that Bumrah, like all touring cricketers, will be keen to play in the third Test at Lord’s, it is hard to see how he can also play at Edgbaston.

And if he sits out that game, England will fancy their chances of going 2-0 up. Quite simply, India had to win at Headingley, when Bumrah was at full pelt.

The situation is complicated by the fact Bumrah would have been happy to assume the captaincy on a full-time basis, having stepped in at Sydney when Rohit Sharma left himself out. Were he now in charge, it is inconceivable he would have gone public with plans to miss Tests here, not least because circumstances may yet allow him to miss only one. The news has boosted English morale, and shone an unforgiving light on the other seamers.

Back in India, former Test player Irfan Pathan lamented Prasidh Krishna’s economy-rate for the match of 6.28. ‘He is at No 2 in terms of the worst economy for a fast bowler in history,’ said Pathan. ‘Bumrah has this economy in T20s.’

It is equally hard to imagine Bumrah allowing others to take charge on the field during England’s pursuit of 371, yet Gill seemed to cede control to Rahul, eight years his senior, and vice-captain Rishabh Pant.

When Thakur misfielded at mid-on, then took an age to get up, turning a quick Joe Root single into a precious three, it was Pant, not Gill, who berated him. Three days after marching off with 147 to his name, the new captain looked diminished.

‘We’ve got to give him time,’ said Gambhir, before adding that asking a young man with almost no leadership experience to start with a big series in England was ‘like pushing someone in the deep sea’.

But have India given him the best chance to stay afloat? Their warm-up match for this series took place against their own A-team behind closed doors in Beckenham, and not even a two-day fixture has been planned in the week-long gaps between the first and second Tests or the third and fourth.

And if fielding is one barometer of a team’s state of mind, the five catchable chances India put down in Leeds — three by Jaiswal — were ominous. The mistakes cost them exactly 200 runs, and that’s before you factor in the no-ball with which Bumrah dismissed Brook on nought on the second evening. He ended up with 99.

Then there were the soft batting collapses — seven for 41 and six for 31 — that left Gambhir having to defend his side’s professionalism. India loves its cricketers, but the press and public can turn quickly if their passion goes unrequited. ‘They batted like millionaires without getting a feel for the conditions,’ complained Sidharth Monga on ESPN Cricinfo.

In his short stint as coach, Gambhir has confirmed the reputation he enjoyed as an opening batsman and as an MP for the ruling BJP party: tough, uncompromising, prone to fallouts. 

Two years ago, while team mentor for IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants, he had a high-profile post-match altercation with Virat Kohli of Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Last month, Kohli — the god of the Indian game — declined the chance to tour England under Gambhir’s watch, and retired from Test cricket.

And with Rohit also quitting, Gambhir can finally preside over a team devoid of superstars.

In theory, Gill has more room to breathe. In practice, Gambhir is pulling the strings. Only one game in, their dynamic is already under scrutiny.