ENG vs IND | Shubman Gill’s mammoth double-hundred puts India on top in second Test

‌India started the first session of day two of the second Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham in aggressive fashion as the overnight pair of Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja found frequent boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking. Gill completed his 150 and India went past the 400-run mark as the pair added 203 runs for the fifth wicket. Jadeja hit 10 fours and a six during his knock of 89 before a well-directed short ball from Josh Tongue ended his innings. India went to lunch at 419/6 after dominating the first session of play with 119 runs in 25 overs.

Shubman Gill accelerated the scoring further in the second session to add to England’s misery in the company of Washington Sundar. He went at more than run a ball in the session to bring up his maiden double hundred in Test cricket before marching past 250 in the same session. The Gujarat Titans pair added 144 runs in just 189 balls for the seventh wicket before Sundar departed for a patient 42 from 103 balls. Gill was unbeaten on 265 as India notched up 145 runs in the second session to seize the advantage.

England finally got their man when the Indian skipper was dismissed for 269 as he spooned a catch to Ollie Pope off Tongue soon after play resumed in the final session. The Indian batter hit 30 fours and three sixes during his marathon knock that lasted 387 balls before missing out on a well-deserving triple hundred. The Indian skipper, however, had a host of records to his name as he left the field including the highest individual score by an Indian in England and the highest score by an Indian captain in Tests. Once Gill departed, it was just a matter of time as the Indian innings folded at 587 with Shoaib Bashir being England’s most successful bowler with a spell of 3/167 while Chris Woakes and Josh Tongue ended with two wickets.

England, in pursuit of a huge total, started shakily as their top three batters were all back in the hut by the eighth over. Akash Deep, who came into the side in place of Jasprit Bumrah, struck first blood when he dismissed the in-form Ben Duckett caught at the slips brilliantly by skipper Gill in the third over. The Indian pacer picked up another wicket off the next ball to send back Ollie Pope, in similar fashion, for a golden duck. Senior pacer Mohammed Siraj also joined the party as he accounted for Zak Crawley with Karun Nair taking a safe catch at slips to reduce England to 25/3. But Joe Root and England white-ball captain Harry Brook ensured that the hosts did not lose another wicket in the day as their unbeaten 52-run stand took England to 77/3 at the close of play with 510 more runs required to match the Indian total.