IND vs ENG 2nd Test, Day 1 Highlights: Shubman Gill century puts India in command at Edgbaston

Shubman Gill became the fourth Indian to score centuries in his first 2 tests as captain.

A captain’s innings from Shubman Gill ensured India still held the upper hand at Stumps on Day 1 of the IND vs ENG 2nd Test. Gill’s efforts were backed by a fine 41 not out from Ravindra Jadeja, while Yashasvi Jaiswal stroked a fluent 87. For England, Chris Woakes was at his potent best, bouncing back to form.

Earlier, captain Ben Stokes won the toss and England persisted with the same XI. That meant Jofra Archer,who was passed fit, remained on the sidelines. India meanwhile made a host of changes, with Jasprit Bumrah missing the first of his two India vs England Tests. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar made the XI as did Akash Deep.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill impress once again

India’s inexperience was a key talking point in all previews for the India vs England series. However, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill have put a stop to that talk with some explemplary batting. Jaiswal was the star of the morning session, stroking his way to a quick fire half-century. He missed out on a hundred, being dismissed for 87.

Gill took a rather patient approach, scoring a half-century in 125 deliveries. He did pick up pace to reach his century before the second new ball. The Indian captain had no centuries overseas but now has 2 in consecutive Tests, shutting down his critics in some style.

India’s revolving No.3

Devdutt Padikkal. Shubman Gill. KL Rahul. Virat Kohli. Sai Sudharsan. And now Karun Nair. Nair is 6th batsman at No.3 since the December, and the 33-year-old did not make the most of his chance. After an initial jittery phase, Nair looked fluent and built a strong partnership with Jaiswal. However, he was surprised by a short delivery and holed out to slip for 31 right before lunch. Nair’s innings was full of promise, but failed to make a significant impact.

Gautam Gambhir goes defensive, India play 3 All rounders

India scored 830 runs in Headingley but found themselves on the wrong side of the result. Instead of beefing up their attack, Gambhir has gone the other way and added more depth to the batting. India suffered two collapses and in came Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Reddy did not have any impact, scoring just 1 before being cleaned up by Chris Woakes. The moves have come at cost of their bowling, with only 3 Frontline bowlers. Among them, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna have played a combined 10 Test matches.

More to follow…