Gill century holds up battling England against India

Second Test, Edgbaston

India 310-5: Gill 114*, Jaiswal 87; Woakes 2-59

England: Yet to bat

England currently lead five-match series 1-0

England were held up by India captain Shubman Gill’s patient century as their bowlers fought admirably on day one of the second Test at Edgbaston.

After captain Ben Stokes opted to bowl first again, his bowlers battled against Gill’s calmness and another flat pitch to limit India to 310-5 at the close.

Chris Woakes bowled KL Rahul off the inside edge in a fine new-ball spell and Brydon Carse found extra bounce to have Karun Nair caught at slip for 31 shortly before lunch.

But opener Yashasvi Jaiswal complied an elegant 87 and after he was caught behind off Stokes, Rishabh Pant put on 66 with Gill as the new-ball zip faded in the Birmingham sunshine.

England hung in, however, and Pant’s patience broke after tea when he hit Shoaib Bashir to long-on for 25. Nitish Kumar Reddy was bowled shouldering arms to Woakes in the next over.

That left India at risk of collapse but Gill remained unflustered and reached three figures for the second match in a row in 199 deliveries. He put on 99 with Ravindra Jadeja to see out the final 90 minutes of play.

Stokes continues to defy all cricketing convention.

There were clouds overhead when he chose to bowl but the surface looked slow and favourable for batting even before the sunshine arrived after only a couple of overs.

In his mind – and India’s – will be England’s record chase of 378 against the same opposition here in 2022.

India were 359-3 at the end of day one in the first Test last week and still lost, meaning there will be no panic in England’s camp even if the Jadeja-Gill partnership ensured the day was shaded by their opponents.

Their patience in the field in the afternoon was impressive while Woakes and Carse threatened throughout.

A short-ball ploy attempted before lunch was quickly shelved and instead Stokes hunted wickets through clever field placements.

India’s changes appear an attempt to consolidate their lower order, which could yet prove crucial as they look to go beyond the 465 they made last week.

Woakes was excellent with the new ball, finding a hint of movement off the seam while being relentless with his lines outside off stump.

Rahul tentatively played on, and had two tight lbw decisions – first against Jaiswal on 12 and the second against Nair on five – gone England’s way the day could have had a different complexion. Both were given not out on the field and shown as umpire’s call when England reviewed.

The hosts bowled more bouncers in the morning than in any opening session of a Test in England but this only allowed runs to flow for Jaiswal, who cut and drove.

Afterwards England corrected, dried up the runs and Jaiswal chased a wide delivery to be caught behind.

Pant was drawn in in similar fashion. A swashbuckling century-maker in both innings in Leeds, he only hit one four and one six in his 42 balls.

When Reddy, one of the three players brought into India’s XI alongside spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar and Akash Deep, played an inexplicable leave, India were 211-5.

Gill, though, did not offer a chance all day. The closest England came was an lbw decision they attempted to overturn when Gill had 17 but there was a big inside edge.

The 25-year-old did not play like the flowing batter seen in white-ball cricket.

Despite some elegant drives and clips through mid-wicket, the 125 balls he took to reach 50 was the most of his career. This was also his slowest century.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan: “Shubman Gill said he’d have bowled but I think this is the way India can beat England – if they score 450.

“India should’ve won the first Test match if they held their chances. India are doing what they need to do to win this game.

“England bowled well enough to get two or three more wickets but the rub of the green with the umpire’s calls has gone the way of India.

“This is a flat wicket and there’s not a lot there for the seamers or spinners and England should score a lot on here if it doesn’t crack. “

England bowler Chris Woakes, speaking to BBC Sport: “I think we’ve put in a really good shift. I feel it was a good day, we asked questions on a good batting surface. Had things gone our way this morning, I feel like the day could’ve been very different but that’s the game we play.