Edgbaston Test: Gill, Pant, and Akash Deep Smash Records in India's Historic Win Over England (Image Credit - X)
Following some promising signs at Leeds despite a five-wicket loss, the massive ceiling and unreal potential of Indian cricket’s ‘Gill era’ was at full display at Birmingham as Team India snapped their ages-old winless streak at Edgbaston against England with a 336-run win, after seven painful losses and a draw.
Several records were shattered by Shubman Gill himself, while the pace duo of Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep made the new ball do its magic on a surface that looked absolutely lifeless for bowlers after the Dukes’ ball got older and softer. A Harry Brook-Jamie Smith triple-century partnership was a counterattack that attempted to thwart India’s efforts of making amends for poor bowling at Leeds, but incredible character, resilience and skill-set was on full display as after a Gill, Rishabh Pant-powered blitz in the second innings, the pace attack managed to replicate the ‘Virat Kohli era’ magic on a pitch that seemed to offer very little, in the absence of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
Without the presence of pace pack leader Bumrah and the legendary duo of ‘Ro-Ko’ (Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli), a new-look India has levelled the series and delivered a befitting reply to critics doubting if the side was even worth touring to England, one of the toughest nations to tour. The Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum-led ‘Bazball’ school of cricket faced a dilemma: Whether to bravely go for a 608-run chase or swallow their pride and settle for a rare draw. England could not do either of those, struggling to balance their defensive and attacking sides of the game and fell flat on their faces with a massive blot on their resume.
After the match, here is a deep dive into the performances of the win’s biggest architects and their records:
At this point, it is safe to say Pant is India’s greatest Test wicketkeeper-batter, having surpassed MS Dhoni. After managing 25 runs in the first innings, Pant delivered an entertaining, counter-attacking and crucial 65 in 58 balls, with eight fours and three sixes in the second. This made him the first-ever Asian wicketkeeper-batter to reach 2,000 Test runs in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia (SENA) countries, a hallmark of his adaptability to tough conditions. Not satiated with being counted amongst Indian greats, Pant is challenging the global greats as well.
In this series, Pant is the third-highest run-getter, with 342 runs in four innings at an average of 85.00 and a strike rate of 81.81, with two centuries and a fifty. His best score is 134.
Before this series, much was expected from Jaiswal after a successful Border-Gavaskar Trophy and an incredible home season. With a century on his debut in England at Leeds and valuable knocks of 87 and 28 at Birmingham, he is truly justifying his hype.
Jaiswal became the fastest Indian to reach 2,000 Test runs, joining legends like Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag, who did so in 40 innings. In 21 Tests and 40 innings, he has 2,018 runs at an average of 53.10, with five centuries and 11 fifties, with a best score of 214*. In this series so far, he has 220 runs in two Tests at an average of 55.00, with a century and fifty each and best score of 101.
Siraj was destructive in this Test, with a spell of 6/70 in the first innings that gave Team India a 180-run lead they could build on. This brilliant spell, carried out largely with the new ball, helped him leapfrog Jasprit Bumrah (four times) to have the most instances of four or more wickets in an innings in England, with a total of five such instances.
Bumrah has 42 wickets in 10 Tests in England, and this workhorse of a bowler is slowly catching up with his ‘Game-changer Jassi bhai’, with 32 wickets in eight matches at an average of 33.81, with a six-wicket haul and four four-wicket hauls to his name.
Heading back into the side after an injury lay-off and a poor Indian Premier League (IPL), Akash Deep adapted to English conditions like fish to water, becoming only second Indian to take a ten-wicket haul in a match in this country after Chetan Sharma back in 1986. In fact, his spell of 10/187 (4/88 in the first innings and 6/99 in the second) is the best-ever spell by an Indian in England. Akash’s seam movement and new-ball magic sucked the life out of England’s top-order, leaving them as helpless as a headless chicken without their most productive batters, Ben Duckett and Joe Root.
Following the match, he revealed his elder sister’s cancer diagnosis and how he played this game just to put a smile on her face.
“The biggest thing is that I have not told anyone yet. My elder sister has been suffering from cancer for the last 2 months. She is stable now. She is fine. She will be the happiest. She has been going through this mentally for the last 2 months. She will be the happiest. I was playing this match for her. I have to make her happy for this match,” Akash Deep said while talking to batter Cheteshwar Pujara, now on broadcasting duties.
(With Inputs From ANI)
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