Shubman Gill Scores Century in 2nd Test vs England

Photo: AP

Shubman Gill’s emotional celebration on the field said it all. At 10:30 am, he stood at the toss and shared that India’s star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was being rested for this second Test match at Edgbaston. By 6:00 pm, after many critics questioned that decision, Gill let out a loud roar and bowed to celebrate his seventh Test century, proving he had done his part to lead from the front.

India chose to rest Bumrah because the team management believed the next match at Lord’s would suit him better than the Edgbaston pitch. And Gill, staying unbeaten on 114, helped India reach a strong position of 310 for 5 at the end of Day 1, even with a batting line-up that had fewer specialist batsmen.

This century felt different from Gill’s first in the series. While the earlier one marked his beginning as India’s Test captain, this one showed his strength under pressure. India made three changes for this match, which raised some eyebrows. New players Akash Deep, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Washington Sundar came in, while B Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur were left out.

England captain Ben Stokes chose to bowl again under sunny skies, and his bowlers did well. Chris Woakes was especially impressive, taking 2 wickets for 59 runs. He bowled beautifully in the morning, getting KL Rahul out after a slow 2 runs from 26 balls.

Woakes, playing his fourth Test at Edgbaston, could’ve had more success if not for two close LBW (leg before wicket) calls that didn’t go his way. Both were reviewed, but the ball tracking showed “umpire’s call,” meaning the on-field decisions stood.

The middle session brought more action. Rishabh Pant played an unnecessary big shot and was caught at long-on, and soon after, Reddy was bowled by a sharp ball from Woakes. Before that, Jaiswal had reached another solid half-century, continuing his strong run against England, scoring 50+ in each of his seven Tests against them.

Jaiswal looked in control, hitting 13 boundaries and reaching 81. But his loose shot off Stokes ended his innings too early, caught behind after a flashy cut shot.

Gill came in just before lunch after Karun Nair was dismissed. Gill took his time and focused on building his innings. He batted through pain, even needing help from the physio for back pain late in the day. But his determination never faded.

His century came off 199 balls, showing how hard he worked for it. He didn’t fall into the trap set by England, who placed three fielders at cover and one at short mid-on to tempt him. Instead, he stayed calm and waited for the right chances.

He finished the day with 11 boundaries to his name and remained steady alongside Ravindra Jadeja, who is unbeaten on 41. Together, they have added 99 runs and will continue their partnership on Day 2.

India’s focus now will be to learn from their mistakes in the first Test, where they let go of strong positions. Gill and Jadeja, the last experienced batters, know they have more work to do to put India in control.