'Everyone's tail wags, ours is so tiny' - Aakash Chopra highlights India's lower-order fragility

India have put themselves in a strong position at the end of four days of riveting action in the first Test in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 at Headingley, Leeds. However, they could have completely batted England out of the Test match had their lower-order batters shown a bit more grit and determination.

England need 350 runs to win on Day 5, while India have to pick up all 10 wickets to go 1-0 up in the five-match series. While some are considering India as the favourites, others are backing England to chase down the challenging 371-run target with their 'Bazball' antics.

India were looking well set to put on a much bigger target in a shorter time frame when KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant had stitched a potentially match-defining 195-run partnership for the fourth wicket. India were cruising at 287/3 in the second session.

However, Pant was dismissed for a brilliant 118 off 140 balls at the stroke of Tea. In the final session of the day, wickets fell at regular intervals as the tourists were rolled over for 364. This was the second time in the Test match that India suffered a batting collapse. In the first innings, they lost their last seven wickets for 41 runs.

Chopra compared India's batting collapse to tumbling Jenga blocks and said that this has become a problem for India as the middle and lower+order have failed to contribute.

"Two incredible centuries, and two collapses. One collapse in the first innings, and one in the second. So many collapses, are we playing Jenga? Collapses have become a part of Indian cricket. Generally, everyone's tail wags, and our tail is so tiny. It ends as soon as it starts. So that is a problem. In the first innings, at one stage, it seemed like you would score 550-575, but it was not to be," he said in a video shared on YouTube.

"Here also, there were expectations of a lot of runs being scored, and that you would go far ahead, but it hasn't happened again because wickets fell one after the other, which included Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur. Ravindra Jadeja was playing, but we play with three or four No. 11s - Bumrah, Siraj, Prasidh. It hurts that Shardul has become like a No. 9," he explained.

Ravindra Jadeja's performance might decide which direction this game goes: Aakash Chopra

Chopra said that England will have to work very hard on Day 5 if they are to win the Test match. The cricketer-turned-commentator picked India as the favourites to emerge victorious, but he also stated the possibility of a draw. Chopra feels that Ravindra Jadeja will have to play a vital role for India to win the Test match.

"England cannot win easily at all. Only one team can win easily, that is India. England will have to work very hard to win, but even a draw is a possibility. Ravindra Jadeja's performance might decide which direction this game goes. Jaddu had taken seven wickets in Chennai once, where Karun Nair had scored a triple hundred and KL Rahul scored 199," Chopra observed.