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India Test skipper Shubman Gill scored his second consecutive hundred, leading India to 310/5 on Day 1 of the second Test against England.
Shubman Gill scored his seventh Test hundred on Wednesday (Picture credit: AP)
India Test skipper Shubman Gill showed patience and determination to score his second successive hundred, but India lost their advantage against England, ending Day 1 of the second Test at 310/5 on Wednesday.
India took a cautious approach with the bat, having chosen three all-rounders over specialist bowlers, which raised many questions.
Similar to Leeds, the Edgbaston track offers plenty of runs and with ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah absent, India need to score over 500 to stay competitive.
Before the end of play, Gill reached his seventh Test hundred with consecutive sweep shots off Shoaib Bashir, celebrating his achievement as the new team leader. Ravindra Jadeja provided solid support, forming an unbroken 99-run stand with his skipper.
England managed to slow the run rate throughout the day as Gill and his teammates were content to bat with caution. The slower track compared to Leeds might have influenced their approach.
Rishabh Pant and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, preferred over Shardul Thakur, were dismissed in the final session.
Pant fell to a well-planned strategy by England skipper Ben Stokes, who positioned a wide long-on instead of a deep midwicket. Pant aimed for the straight boundary but could not clear it.
Reddy misjudged a length delivery from Chris Woakes that seamed back in to hit his off stump.
Gill played carefully, avoiding aggressive shots in his careful innings. He stepped out against Bashir for fours and executed drives and pulls against pacers.
In the afternoon session, Stokes, known for taking unexpected wickets, dismissed Jaiswal with a short and wide ball, caught behind. The latter’s aggressive attempt resulted in an easy catch for Jamie Smith.
With little action in the session, English fans in the iconic Eric Hollies Stand made noise to support the home side. India added 84 runs in 28 overs.
In the 34th over, Gill survived a DRS LBW call off Brydon Carse because of an inside edge. Pant joined him late in the session, taking his time to settle before smacking Bashir for a six over mid-on.
In the morning, Jaiswal maintained aggression despite being tested by England pacers, while Karun Nair showed promise at No. 3 before falling late in the morning session.
Given the overhead conditions, Stokes chose to bowl, but Jaiswal and Nair survived the tough period. In the first hour, KL Rahul played onto the stumps off a Woakes ball before Jaiswal and Nair added 80 for the second wicket.
Carse got one to rise before lunch, resulting in an outside edge from Nair’s bat to Harry Brook at second slip.
There was not much swing, but the ball seamed in the first hour. Carse targeted Jaiswal’s rib cage, but the latter remained unfazed.
Jaiswal began with cover drives off Carse, who alternated between full balls and short deliveries aimed at the body. Besides flowing drives, he played pulls and a slap over backward point off Stokes.
Nair, batting higher than in the previous match, faced many full balls from the England pacers and capitalised by driving through cover and straight boundaries.
Before the toss, the shortened boundary ropes at Edgbaston attracted attention. With premier match-winner Bumrah rested, India brought in Akash Deep and made two notable changes.
Kuldeep Yadav was once again omitted as India opted for a second spinner in all-rounder Washington. Given their struggle to take 20 wickets at Leeds, the decision to strengthen the batting lineup was debatable.
(With PTI Inputs)
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