ENG vs IND: 5 talking points from India’s campaign on Day 1 of the Edgbaston Test

India ended Day 1 of the Edgbaston Test at 310/5, with Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja steady at the crease. While a few selection calls raised eyebrows, there were moments of promise and missed opportunities across the batting order.

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Highlights of India's outing on Day 1 of second Test

The opening day of the Edgbaston Test between England and India in Birmingham was quite eventful, as the visitors put themselves on top with a strong batting display, overcoming early hiccups on Wednesday, July 2.

At the close of play on Day 1, Team India posted a total of 310/5 after 85 overs, with skipper Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja batting on 114 and 41, respectively, putting the visitors in a strong position with an unbeaten 99-run partnership for the sixth wicket. The pair will look to extend their partnership on Day 2 and push India to a formidable first-innings total.

On that note, let’s take a look at five key takeaways from India’s outing on Day 1 of the second Test.

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1. Resting Jasprit Bumrah receives criticism

Team India headed into the second Test without their premier pacer, Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah, who took five wickets in the first innings of the Headingley Test, was rested by team management to manage his workload. It was already decided by selectors and management that the pace spearhead would feature in three Tests of the ongoing series.

However, the decision to rest Jasprit Bumrah drew criticism from experts, especially former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who expressed his surprise over his exclusion from the playing XI, given the importance of the match after the Headingley Test defeat and the eight-day break between the first and second Tests. After the first Test defeat, Shastri warned Team India of a ‘0-2’ deficit if Bumrah was rested for the Edgbaston Test.

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2. Kuldeep Yadav’s exclusion sparks debate

Kuldeep Yadav, yet again, did not find a place in the playing XI as Team India went with spin bowling all-rounders in Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja. Shardul Thakur was dropped to bring in Sundar to maintain the balance of the team after Bumrah was rested for the Edgbaston Test. However, Kuldeep’s exclusion became a debatable topic before Day 1 of the second Test.

Since England have a specialist spinner, Shoaib Bashir, in their playing XI, many felt India missed a trick by including Kuldeep Yadav, their best wrist-ball spinner. Former India batting legend turned commentator, Sunil Gavaskar, was left ‘baffled’ by Kuldeep’s omission, especially when the Edgbaston pitch is expected to offer assistance to spin on Day 4 and Day 5.

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3. Karun Nair yet to prove his second chance

Karun Nair made his comeback to India’s Test playing XI after eight long years in the first Test at Headingley in Leeds. However, the veteran Indian batter failed to justify his comeback as he scored 0 and 20 in both innings of the Headingly Test. Despite his lacklustre performance in the series opener, Karun Nair retained his place in the playing XI and was promoted to the No.3 spot, replacing Sai Sudharsan, who was dropped from the second Test.

However, Karun Nair once again failed to capitalize on the opportunity. The 33-year-old had a good start to his innings, smashing five fours and scoring 30 off 49 balls before he was dismissed by Brydon Carse. Nair failed to convert his promising start into a big score, once again falling short of expectations on his comeback to Team India after seven years.

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4. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s gritty knock, but missed a well-deserved century

Yashasvi Jaiswal has continued his rich vein of form in Test Cricket, especially against England, with a gritty knock in the first innings of the Edgbaston Test. After the early fall of the wicket of KL Rahul, the southpaw anchored the innings, alongside crucial partnerships with Karun Nair (80 for the second wicket) and Shubman Gill (66 for the third wicket), and played a gritty knock of 87 off 107 balls.

Jaiswal missed out on a second consecutive of the series by just 13 runs. He scored his maiden Test century on England soil at Headingley. Additionally, Yashasvi Jaiswal fell 10 runs short of breaking the Indian record for the fastest to 2000 runs in Tests by innings. The record is currently held by Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag, who achieved the milestone in 40 innings. Had Jaiswal completed 2000 runs in his 39th Test innings, he would have become the fastest Indian to reach the milestone in terms of innings.

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5. Shubman Gill’s captain knock with responsibility

Shubman Gill has delivered yet another captain’s knock with an unbeaten 114 off 216 balls. This was his second consecutive century in the England Test series, after scoring 147 off 227 balls in the first innings at Headingley in Leeds. Along with his century, Gill displayed his captaincy responsibility in batting by holding the innings together.

With Nitish Kumar Reddy departing soon after at 211/5, Shubman Gill took charge of the innings and carefully guided India through a potential tricky phase alongside Ravindra Jadeja, with whom he has stitched an unbeaten 99-run stand for the sixth wicket. With two successive centuries in the ongoing Test series, Shubman Gill became the fourth player after Virat Kohli, Vijay Hazare, and Sunil Gavaskar to score a century in the first two Tests as an Indian captain.