New Delhi: Skipper Shubman Gill notched up a superb century, while opener Yashsvi Jaiswal scored a brilliant 87 to help India post 310/5 on the board at stumps to finish in a strong position on Day 1 of the 2nd Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Gill remained not out on 114 and shared an unbeaten stand of 99 for the sixth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja to take India past the 300-run mark.
Gill, who scored a century in the series opener at Headingley, slammed his second successive hundred against England in the ongoing series and the third consecutive against the hosts in Tests, overall, to continue his impressive run against them in the whites. Gill looked in complete control and remained composed throughout to carve out a masterful knock.
The Indian skipper arrived in the middle at no.4, when India were 95/3 in the 24th over, having lost Karun Nair on 31. Gill joined hands with Jaiswal to steady the ship and share a crucial stand of 66 runs for the third wicket. Jaiswal, who was looking in magnificent touch, missed out on a well-deserved century by a whisker as he was dismissed on 87 off 107 balls by England skipper Ben Stokes, who got him caught behind the stumps.
However, Gill looked unfazed as he continued to hold one end strongly to build another partnership with Rishabh Pant. Gill and Pant added 47 runs for the 5th wicket before the left-hander was dismissed by Shoaib Bashir on 25 off 42 deliveries. The Indian skipper then joined hands with Jadeja to share an unbeaten stand for the sixth wicket.
Gill completed his century off 199 balls, with a four off Joe Root in the 80th over, right before stumps on Day 1. He finished with an unbeaten 114 off 216 balls, while Jadeja scored an unbeaten 41 off 67 deliveries as the duo propelled India to 310/5 with their 99-run partnership.
Gill achieved multiple feats with his unbeaten ton against England on Day 1 of the Edgbaston Test. He became only the fourth Indian skipper after Virat Kohli, Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar to notch up centuries in the first two Test matches as captain. He also became only the third Indian captain to slam consecutive tons in Tests against England.
He joined Vijay Hazare (Delhi and Brabourne in 1951-52) and Mohammad Azharuddin (Lord’s and Old Trafford in 1990) in becoming the third Indian skipper to notch up consecutive hundreds in Tests against England. Gill’s unbeaten 114 on Wednesday is his third straight century against England in Tests, as he scored 110 in the final 5th Test against England in Dharamshala during India’s home Test series against Ben Stokes & Co. at home last year.
He has centuries in his last three Test outings against England. Gill is only the fourth Indian batter after Dilip Vengsarkar, Rahul Dravid, and Mohammad Azharuddin to have scored a hat-trick of tons against England in the longest format. He will be looking to continue from where he had left off on Day 2 to help India post a big total on the board in their first innings.
