IND vs ENG, 2nd Test, Day 2: Gill, Jadeja Put India Ahead, But For How Long?

Published during the lunch break in the UK, #MidMatchMemo delivers sharp analysis from the first session of play, and picks up where we left off the previous day.

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COMING TOGETHER at the fall of Nitish Kumar Reddy’s wicket on Wednesday, Indian skipper Shubhman Gill and the team’s senior statesman Ravindra Jadeja began their partnership with the score at 211/5. And by the time the latter fell for 89 just before lunch on the second day of the Edgbaston Test, the duo had put together a commanding 203-run partnership. A mammoth first innings total looked to be on the cards as India sought to bat England out of the game. It should be stated that this isn’t the worst strategy considering bowling is probably not the visitors’ strongest suit, particularly in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. The strategy seems to be working so far with Gill at 168 and India at 419/6 at lunch.

The start of the day saw both overnight batters begin proceedings with a requisite degree of caution. The last thing they’d want to do is throw away the gains of the previous evening. With the first hour carefully negotiated, it was time to begin piling on the runs. And a well-set Gill began to accelerate with a variety of unorthodox strokes that verged on the audacious and demonstrated a fair bit more of an attacking intent. Jadeja too ramped up the aggression with some full-blooded pull shots and elegant flicks through the leg side. From an England standpoint, the biggest criticism of the bowling on the second morning is that they simply did not ask enough questions of the batters. Compounding the situation was that the bowling overall seemed to lack variety, and began to turn awfully predictable. At times, it began to feel like each member of the English attack was simply going through the motions bowling his stock deliveries.

This was underlined by the fact that the first time any of the bowlers actually tried to mix things up, as Josh Tongue did in the 108th over of the innings, it resulted in a wicket. In this case, it was Jadeja who was taken by surprise with the extra pace and bounce of the delivery. A few slower balls here, a couple of well-aimed bouncers there earlier in the session and who knows, England could’ve been in a far better situation at the lunch break.

Having finally made that all-important breakthrough, the home team will seek to minimise the damage the rest of the Indian lineup can do. With batters Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook and Zak Crawley in good nick, and ex-captain Joe Root never too far from a big innings, the English team will back itself to chase down whatever India amasses. For now, the match hangs in the balance with much depending on whether Gill is able to rally the lower batting order around him and post a huge total, or if Tongue’s success inspires his teammates to think outside the box and outfox the Indian batters quickly. Needless to say, India can rightfully claim the first session, however the next couple will be absolutely critical. Either way, they should make for riveting viewing.

On Wednesday, India saw off the second new ball to end the day’s proceedings on 310/5 — a score that reflected a good day’s work with the bat, but also the fact that England only needed a couple more wickets to get into the tail. It was a day of what-ifs that left the visitors imagining the position of strength they’d have been in had Rishabh Pant not sought to smack the leather off a Bashir deliver (an effort that saw him hole out to long-on), and had Reddy not shouldered arms to an in-seaming Chris Woakes ball and been bowled for a solitary run. On their part, the hosts may have wondered about the early inroads they could’ve made into the Indian batting order if the umpire’s call on two close LBW shouts had gone their way.

Earlier in the day, Yashasvi Jaiswal almost followed up his first Test century with another, only to fall victim to an impatient slash outside off stump. Gill, on the other hand, grabbed the opportunity to score his second ton in as many games as captain. The pitch has been on the mildly slower side and it hasn’t done anything to suggest that there are any demons hiding under the surface. However, England’s bowlers had been keeping things nice and tight throughout the first day, offering up only a few loose balls. Nevertheless, Gill’s patient and level-headed knock showed his teammates the way as he sauntered to his sixth Test century.

A hallmark of his knock was his awareness of exactly where the fielders were, which allowed him to take risks only when strictly required. Everything else was a well-calculated decision. Although he had stitched together a 47-run partnership with Pant, it was Jadeja’s arrival that seemed to provide Gill with a companion with a mutual understanding of how to stitch together a partnership, and indeed an innings. Tricky balls were left alone or played watchfully. Inaccurate balls were taken advantage of. And most importantly, wickets were kept intact.

Karan Pradhan is editor-in-chief of Story Mode, a gaming and gaming-adjacent magazine. Follow him on X/Twitter @karanpradhan_