Day 1 of the second Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy belonged to Shubman Gill, whose composed century helped India reach a commanding 310 for 5 against England in Birmingham on Wednesday.
Under scrutiny after India’s five-wicket defeat in Leeds and the decision to rest Jasprit Bumrah, Gill rose to the occasion with a patient unbeaten 114, his seventh Test hundred and second as captain.
I think he’s been amazing the way he’s batting. It’s just incredible to see him bat, and as a captain, also he’s been amazing. He’s very clear in his head what he needs to do with the team, and we are very confident in what we are going to do.
After being sent in by Ben Stokes, India’s innings wobbled early. KL Rahul chopped on for 2, and Karun Nair, batting at No.3 in place of B. Sai Sudharsan, edged Brydon Carse to slip for 31. At 95 for 2, the pressure was firmly on the visitors.
But Gill, fresh from his 147 in Headingley, dug in with unwavering focus. His 216-ball innings featured 12 boundaries and underlined his growing stature as a leader.
His stand of 66 with Jaiswal (87) steadied the ship, before England struck twice more — Ben Stokes removing Jaiswal, and Rishabh Pant falling for 25. Nitish Kumar Reddy lasted just seven deliveries.
Yet any hopes England had of triggering another collapse, like in Leeds, were quelled as Gill and Ravindra Jadeja (41 not out) combined in a crucial unbroken 99-run partnership for the sixth wicket.
During his knock, Gill became only the second Indian captain after Mohammad Azharuddin to score hundreds in consecutive Tests in England. He is also the third to register centuries in successive Tests against England, alongside Azharuddin and Vijay Hazare.
For England, Chris Woakes was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 59 and admitted the day could have looked very different.
A good day, but a frustrating day. A couple of decisions go our way early, and you’re looking at a completely different day. The surface felt pretty flat after lunch, but credit to Shubman—he played very well and had a great partnership with Ravi as well.
Woakes was philosophical about the umpiring calls, particularly the “umpire’s call” that spared both Nair and Jaiswal in the morning session.
Either they go your way or they don’t. The umpire’s call is there for a reason when there’s a little bit of doubt. But it’s frustrating — if those wickets go your way, it just looks completely different.
Despite India’s strong position, memories of their lower-order collapse in Leeds linger. But Jaiswal sounded confident about building on the platform.
“I think the situation is very nice and we ended up at a very good score today,” he said. “Both batsmen are doing quite a good job, so I hope everything goes well.”
Brief Scores: India 310/5 in 85 overs (Shubman Gill 114*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 87; Chris Woakes 2-59, Brydon Carse 1-49) vs England.
