Gill and Jaiswal drive India even as team selection grabs the spotlight

The Hindu

4 days ago

On a day when India's team selection provoked and riled admirers and critics alike, Shubman Gill & Co reached 310 for five at stumps in the second Test against England at Birmingham on Wednesday.
On the opening morning at Edgbaston, when asked by Ben Stokes to experience the pitch first, India left two of its best wicket-taking bowlers on the bench – pacer Jasprit Bumrah to manage his workload and wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav for his inferior batting ability – and dropped a frontline batter in B. Sai Sudharsan, who had debuted in Leeds and scored 30 neat, second-innings runs.
In came two all-rounders Nitish Kumar and Washington Sundar, both capable players but not yet of the cutting-edge variety. Akash Deep replacing Bumrah was the only straightforward decision.
There appears to be an inward obsession and a stubborn insistence in the Indian thinktank to pack the team with batters who can bowl. And the move, coming as it did after the visitors struggled to dismiss England twice in Headingley and went 0-1 down in the series, struck a discordant note.
Also, three changes to a line-up that may well have won the first Test if not for dropped catches seemed overly reactive. However, in sport, results authenticate tactics and approaches, and it will be up to Gill (114 batting, 216b, 12x4) and Jadeja (41 batting, 67b, 5x4) to prove that the logic behind India's choices was indeed sound.
On a demon-free turf, Yashasvi Jaiswal (87, 107b, 13x4) and Gill propped up India. Jaiswal batted in a brisk, authoritative fashion, and after India lost K.L. Rahul cheaply (2, 26b), the left-hander and one-drop Karun Nair (31, 50b, 5x4) combined for 80 runs.
There were times when Jaiswal appeared tetchy as England bowled into his body and cramped him for width. But Jaiswal was up for the battle, and even aced the short-ball challenge, with his best shot being the pulled four off Josh Tongue despite the presence of a short-leg, mid-wicket, square-leg, long-leg and fine-leg.
Karun, batting at No. 3 after his one-match stint at No. 6, was in sparkling touch, executing a few wonderful drives.
But at the stroke of lunch, a Brydon Carse delivery climbed awkwardly and he was caught at second slip.
After the break, Gill had the lion's share of the strike but he took a risk-free approach, scoring at a rate less than 50. But he collected runs all around the ground, a majority of them in ones and twos. Jaiswal, though, fell in an attempt to move the scoreboard along, caught behind off Stokes while trying a cut.
However, Gill drove, steered and flicked his way to a responsible ton. Stokes, who had earlier baited Rishabh Pant (25, 42b, 1x4, 1x6) into hitting straight to long-on, tried to lure Gill by introducing Joe Root an over before the new ball was due.
Gill responded with two confident sweeps to bring up his seventh Test century and second of the series.
When Nitish, who came in at the fall of Pant, shouldered arms to Chris Woakes and had his reputation in tatters, India had fallen to 211 for five. With a 99-run stand, Gill and Jadeja arrested the slide and it will be up to them to ensure that the knife that had come so dangerously close doesn't end up twisting them on day two and leave them bleeding.