India’s skipper Shubman Gill hit a sparkling century and helped his team reach a respectable score at the end of day one in the ongoing Birmingham Test. Gill played a captain’s knock as he rescued India from a precarious position after they had lost half the side for 211.
His second century in as many matches came via a robust sweep off Joe Root. As the ball rolled towards the boundary, he celebrated it in style by bowing to the crowd. Gill finished the day at 114 off 216 balls and smashed 12 boundaries.
The partnership between Gill and Jadeja stretched to an unbeaten 99 runs for the sixth wicket as India finished the day at 310 for the loss of 5 wickets. Jadeja, too, played a calm second fiddle to his captain and made 41 runs.
As the pair begins day two, they would hope to take India past 400 runs, considered a par score in England since they started playing the ‘Bazball’ style of cricket.
England Bowl First
Earlier, England captain Ben Stokes had won the toss, and following his highly successful chasing formula, he decided to bowl first. The English bowlers vindicated their skipper’s decision and kept Indian openers quiet with impeccable control of line and length.
Hampered by brilliant bowling, opener KL Rahul could not sustain his discipline for long and was the first to be dismissed. Chris Woakes bowled a good length delivery, and he could only chop it on to his stumps for a score of 2.
Karun Nair, batting at number 3, looked good while he lasted at the crease. But his innings was cut short at the middling score of 31, and his search for a big score continues as he marks a comeback after 8 years.
Opener Jaiswal and Gill played some scintillating strokes in their partnership as the two looked set for a huge partnership. Jaiswal and Stokes were also involved in a heated verbal exchange, but the latter had the last laugh.
He dismissed Jaiswal with a short and wide delivery for 87, as the batter missed out on a second successive century.
A Mini Collapse
India lost two quick wickets after Jaiswal fell, as both Pant and Nitish Reddy were dismissed in quick succession. A score of 161-2 quickly became 211 for 5, as the hosts looked to dominate the game. However, Gill and Jadeja made sure England didn’t run away with the game, and it remained in balance.
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