Shubman Gill's gritty century takes India to solid start in second test against England

India mounted a valiant show on the first day of the second Test match against England in Birmingham with captain Shubman Gill showing the way with his second successive Test century. His gritty knock took India to a fighting total of 310 for five at stumps. Gill was unbeaten at 114 runs from 216 balls in a display of immense patience and calmness as he held the innings together. He had Ravindra Jadeja to keep him company at the crease at the end of the day, who made a steady 41 from 67 balls and consolidated an unbeaten 99-run partnership with the captain. The inclusion of three all-rounders in the playing eleven by the Indian team generated a few raised eyebrows particularly with the left out of the star bowler Jasprit Bumrah but the batting lineup made sure India had something to present in the scoreboard at the close of Day 1.

Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a smooth knock and was about to reach a ton but was left short after scoring 87 runs from 107 balls. His choice of shots was generally positive and assertive particularly early in the innings when the ball was swinging. He struck lovely cover drives and some bold pull shots when facing fast bowlers who attempted to attack his body. Despite being under pressure from the England bowlers Jaiswal remained calm and dominated the first session before a short wide delivery from Ben Stokes lured him into a shot that resulted in another wicket caught behind. His early alliance with Karun Nair was significant to India as they contributed 80 precious runs for the second wicket following KL Rahul's early dismissal in the innings for only two runs from 26 balls. Rahul played onto his stumps off Chris Woakes as England capitalized on favorable overhead conditions.

Karun Nair who batted at number three impressed with a rapid 31 from 50 deliveries. He played some good shots particularly through the covers and straight down the ground before getting out to a rising delivery by Brydon Carse which took the edge and was caught at second slip. There was no significant swing in the wicket but the seam movement kept Indian batters on their toes particularly during the morning session. Carse kept sending short deliveries to Jaiswal's body but the left-hander remained solid and handled them well. Nair's contribution in the initial part of his innings helped India overcome the early setback of Rahul and consolidate the innings at a critical stage.

Rishabh Pant attempted to give the game impetus in the evening session with some attacking strokes including a towering six off Shoaib Bashir but he was out for 25 runs off 42 balls. His wicket was a result of a cunning field placement by Stokes who placed a broad long-on in place of a deep midwicket and Pant fell for the trap to have the fielder close to the ropes. This provided Bashir with his first wicket in the Test. Nitish Kumar Reddy replaced Pant soon after his wicket and his short innings also ended in despair. He missed a length ball from Chris Wookes which nipped back and removed his off stump. His inclusion in place of Shardul Thakur came as a surprise and his early demise increased the pressure on the Indian batting team.

Shubman Gill on the other hand continued to bat in a disciplined manner opting for his attacking strokes wisely. He played some beautiful drives and pulled with confidence whenever he was given short balls. Against the spin he was aggressive employing his feet against Shoaib Bashir to look for gaps and keep pressure. His century towards the latter part of the day included two successive sweep shots from Bashir and the smile on his face indicated how much it mattered to him particularly as a young captain who led by example.

England's bowlers remained committed to their work during the day and although wickets weren't falling in groups they were able to retard the run rate. The Edgbaston pitch was slightly slower than at Leeds and that could have had an effect on India's more conservative batting. With the rope marks clearly pulled in and no Jasprit Bumrah in the bowling attack India will most probably require a total of over 500 runs to exert genuine pressure on England. So Gill and Jadeja's stand becomes all the more crucial on the approach to Day 2.

India made some unexpected changes to their team before the game got underway. Together with resting Bumrah the side drafted Akash Deep and dropped Sai Sudharsan for Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy. The move to select an additional batting all-rounder like Washington Sundar ahead of a specialist spinner such as Kuldeep Yadav was suspect particularly after the team's inability to get 20 wickets in the last match at Leeds. India's plan was clearly to shore up the batting unit but it will be seen whether that move will prove fruitful in the longer term.

In spite of the shaky bowling lineup India have set themselves up on a strong foundation due to the performances of Gill Jaiswal and the middle order. With batting more left and the pitch still very good for runs the team will hope to continue from this platform on the second day and register a huge first innings score. England will seek early wickets and want to limit India under 400. The contest is evenly balanced and both teams have nothing to lose as the second Test progresses.