ENG vs IND: Body blow for Bazball as Shubman Gill's India storm Birmingham bastion
While Gill cashed in on one of the flattest pitches England has served up, Siraj and Akash Deep rose to the occasion in Bumrah's absence, outbowling England's own attack on home turf.One wicket leads to another!Akash Deep is on as he traps #HarryBrook in front & half of the English side is back in the hut!1-1 on the cards? ! #ENGvIND 2nd TEST, Day 5 | LIVE NOW on #JioHotstar pic.twitter.com/FdMUwYxChf— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 6, 2025'England can chase anything in the fourth innings'—that had become the Bazball gospel after the Ben Stokes-led side mowed down 371 at Headingley. Birmingham, too, held haunting memories for India, the site of England's record 378-run chase in 2022 that announced the birth of Bazball. And with Bumrah rested for workload management, the odds seemed stacked once again.But this young Indian side, under Gill, played with the poise of seasoned warriors and the audacity of a London crime syndicate. Banishing the ghosts of Leeds, they produced a clinical, ruthless display across all three departments, levelling the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 1-1 after two gripping Tests.England now find themselves in a spot of real bother. Their Bazball pride has taken a body blow. It's their heaviest home defeat since the Stokes-McCullum revolution began redefining Test cricket. More worryingly, England's bowling—led by Chris Woakes and flanked by rookies Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse—looked blunt and bereft of ideas. Their struggle raised fresh questions: can Bazball afford to thrive on such placid pitches, or has the very surface of their strategy begun to betray them?SHUBMAN GILL WALKS THE TALKIndia, by contrast, corrected every flaw exposed in Leeds. From dropping nine catches in the opener to pulling off sharp takes in Birmingham's slip cordon; from a brittle lower order to one that stood up with runs. All-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, with twin fifties, and Washington Sundar, with a vital 40 in the first innings, added steel to India's spine.advertisementIn fact, India were tottering at 211 for 5 in the first innings before Gill and Jadeja stitched together a match-defining 203-run stand for the sixth wicket, propelling India to a towering 587.Perhaps the most symbolic shift came from Gill himself. After the loss in Leeds, he had spoken bluntly about the top order's failure to convert starts—"daddy hundreds" were needed, not blame passed down to the tail. And in Birmingham, he delivered in emphatic style: 450 runs across two innings, the most ever by an Indian in a Test, eclipsing Sunil Gavaskar's 344 against West Indies in 1971.#ShubmanGill delivers a captain's classic, cracking a fluent 150 and steering India with flair against England! #ENGvIND 2nd TEST, Day 4 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar https://t.co/2wT1UwEcdi pic.twitter.com/egTz5Ranig— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 5, 2025Bumrah's omission and the decision to go in with three all-rounders over Kuldeep Yadav sparked chatter on Day 1. But by the time Gill had his "daddy hundred" on the board, the doubters were silenced. India hadn't carried the baggage from Leeds—they had come to Birmingham to make a statement. And they did, with thunder.- EndsTune InYou May Also Like
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