On the second day of the Edgbaston Test, India scored a magnificent 587 before the English bowlers bowled them out. Shubman Gill, India’s captain, was the brightest star. The batter hit a swashbuckling knock of 269 off just 387 balls, ensuring that his team posted a positive total despite a shaky start.
Ravindra Jadeja, who remained unbeaten on 41 at the end of Day 1, added 48 more runs to his total. However, he missed out on another century at the venue by only 11 runs. Jadeja’s 89 off 137 balls came during his stunning 203-run combination with Gill, which propelled the scoreboard past 400 with ease.
Despite Jadeja’s exit, Shubman Gill continued to dominate, with Washington Sundar (42) contributing a respectable total with the bat.
When it came to taking on the English hitters, the biggest concern for the Indian pace attack was the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested for this Test due to workload management issues. However, India replaced the Ahmedabad-born with the young and fresh Akash Deep, with Mohammed Siraj leading the pace battery as the senior member of the line-up alongside Prasidh Krishna and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Akash Deep did not disappoint, scoring twice in two balls during the match’s third over. These two deliveries saw the departure of Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, who each went for a duck. A few overs later, Zak Crawley crawled back to the pavilion after edging an outswinger from Siraj, while Karun Nair took a sharp catch at first slip. With a 25-3 lead, England tried to stop India’s momentum with Joe Root and Harry Brook.
Brook (30 off 53) has played some daring shots in what has been an interesting knock thus far, while Root (18 off 37) has taken the conservative approach, conserving his valuable wicket. The duo will now aim to prolong their partnership, but they are still trailing by 510 runs following the umpires’ call of Stumps on the second day. The following day will decide the fate of the match, as India has a chance to take a large lead, whilst the Bazball approach has the potential to make a mockery of the Indian total or at the very least reduce it to a bare minimum, making for an exciting day.
India
