ENG vs IND: All-round Amanjot fires as India hammer England again, seal 2-0 lead
Put in to bat for the second time in as many matches, India had a wobbly start, losing key wickets inside the powerplay. Smriti Mandhana, who had smashed a match-winning century in Nottingham, Shafali Verma, and returning skipper Harmanpreet Kaur were all dismissed early, leaving India in a precarious position. Harmanpreet, in particular, struggled and managed only a single run before being caught.India were reeling at 31 for 3 in the final over of the powerplay when Jemimah Rodrigues joined Amanjot Kaur, who was batting at No. 5 for the first time in her career.AMANJOT-JEMIMAH STANDRodrigues played a pivotal role in steadying the innings, reaching her fifty with a flurry of well-timed boundaries. Her knock was characterised by intelligent strike rotation and a calm presence at the crease, ensuring the scoreboard kept ticking despite the early setbacks. Starting cautiously, she eventually found fluency in a match-defining 93-run partnership with Amanjot.advertisementAmanjot Kaur quickly asserted herself, dispatching the English bowlers to the boundary with authority. Her confident strokeplay kept the pressure on the hosts, and she went on to remain unbeaten on 63 off just 40 deliveries.'A good win for us – the way the entire team performed today was special to see. The way Jemimah and Amanjot played gave us a platform. When boundaries weren't coming, they were looking for twos,' said captain Harmanpreet Kaur.Later in the innings, Amanjot found support in Richa Ghosh as the pair added a brisk 55 runs in the final five overs. Their late assault proved crucial in propelling India to a competitive total of 181 for 4 from their 20 overs. The duo took full advantage of some inconsistent bowling, ensuring India finished strongly.ALL-ROUND BOWLING DISPLAYIn response, England struggled to forge meaningful partnerships as India's bowlers kept things tight throughout. The hosts were restricted to 157 for 8 in their 20 overs, falling short by 24 runs. Tammy Beaumont stood out with a brisk half-century, but her valiant effort wasn't enough to steer England to victory.India's bowlers maintained pressure with regular breakthroughs, and Amanjot Kaur capped off her stellar day by claiming the key wicket of Nat Sciver-Brunt. Her superb all-round performance earned her the Player of the Match award.advertisement'I'm feeling quite overwhelmed, happy to contribute to this win,' Amanjot said.India will now aim to seal an unassailable lead in the series when they face England in the third T20I at The Oval in London on Friday, 4 July.- EndsMust Watch
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First Post
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India solid on Day 1 but Bumrah's absence and team balance raise deeper questions
Shubman Gill's century anchored India to 310/5 on Day 1 of the 2nd Test against England, but questionable team selection, especially the exclusion of Jasprit Bumrah, raises concerns about team's strategy in their series comeback attempt. read more Shubman Gill may have scored the crucial hundred that tied India's innings together on day one, his 114 at number four the backbone of a more than respectable 310/5; however, after a thrilling day's play, he may well not be the captain who will go home the happiest. Inserting India in almost perfect batting conditions, on a surface with very few demons, England would have been well aware that a repeat of Headingley, where the tourists piled on the runs for the loss of very few wickets, was highly likely again. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Instead, they looked much-improved with the ball, giving the impression that they are only growing into this series. Chris Woakes was very disappointing at Headingley, his performance one of his worst on English soil. Today, he was back to the sort of consistency that has come to be expected of him, in particular unlucky not to take more wickets in the morning session. Brydon Carse bowled with pace and menace, despite the placid surface, and Ben Stokes captained intelligently and provided the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal at a crucial moment. In short, even on a day that ultimately ended pretty much honours even, England looked like a team with real forward momentum, while India appeared a little uncertain in themselves. India's team selection raises eyebrows In truth, India put themselves on the back foot before a ball had even been bowled, their team selection for this Test raising more than a few eyebrows. The headline grabber was, of course, the omission of Jasprit Bumrah – predetermined to only be playing three Tests in this series, he was always going to be left out at some point, but it felt an odd decision at this stage on multiple fronts. The first is schedule-related. With the management of Bumrah's workload – after his injury layoff – the driving force behind his planned absences, this seems a strange time to give him a rest. There has been a week's gap between the first Test at Headingley and this one – ample time for a fast bowler to fully recover from the toils of a five day game. This then seemed like the perfect opportunity for Bumrah to play back-to-back Tests without causing undue strain on his body. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Only multiplying this is the fact that if there ever was a point in a series that India needed the world's best fast bowler on their side then it is this one. After the defeat at Headingley, the tourists' margin for error in this series has been considerably reduced. Another defeat might well be terminal for their prospects – the list of teams who have come back from 2-0 in a series is monumentally small. On top of that this Test is being played on a surface that might generously be described as benign, and with Bumrah's excellence the one area where there is a vast gulf in class between these two sides, having a bowler who can create something out of nothing – no matter the conditions – could have been a hugely advantageous point of difference. However, the handling of Bumrah's selection has not been the only place off the field that Indian thinking has looked muddled; the makeup of the side as a whole appeared curious from the outside. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Arguably, one of India's biggest mistakes at Headingley was neither committing fully to the strengths of their batting nor bowling attacks. The selection of Shardul Thakur, in an attempt to bolster both, ultimately did neither – the allrounder ultimately contributing only a pair of cheap final day wickets and five runs across two innings. Their response to this potentially match-losing bit of first Test hedging? Double down at Edgbaston, with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar brought into the side. Instead of leaning into either batting or bowling strength, India have once again opted to try and find that elusive sweet spot in the middle straddling the two. To an outsider, it appears they have simply reinforced the batting strength of the tail while making their top order weaker and without strengthening their bowling attack – it's a bold strategy, let's see if it pays off. There is, of course, a long way to go and India have not started badly in this Test, however, they may well rue the shaky foundations on which they are trying to build their comeback in the series. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
India Gazette
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"Not buying narrative": Irfan Pathan doesn't see Sundar's inclusion as "negative" move from India management
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News18
an hour ago
- News18
Shubman Gill Becomes 4th Indian After Azharuddin, Vengsarkar And Dravid To...
Last Updated: Shubman Gill came out to bat at No. 4 for India on Day 1 of the 2nd Test against England at Edgbaston and remained unbeaten on 114 runs from 216 balls. Shubman Gill scored a century for India on Day 1 of the second Test against England. In the match taking place at Edgbaston in Birmingham, Gill came out to bat at No. 4 in the first innings and remained unbeaten on 114 from 216 balls. The century on Wednesday (July 2) at Edgbaston was Gill's third Test century in a row against the English team, and it helped him join Mohammad Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Rahul Dravid in an elite list. During their playing days, Azhar, Vengsarkar, and Dravid (twice) also scored three Test centuries in a row against the English team. Azhar made his Test debut against England in December 1984 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and scored 110 runs in the first innings. He played his second and third Tests as well against the English team and scored 105 runs in the second innings of the second Test and 122 runs in the first innings of the third Test. He is the only Indian batter so far to score a century in the first three Tests. Vengsarkar scored 137 runs in the first innings of the Kanpur Test played against England in January-February 1985 and crossed the 100-run mark in the next two red-ball matches played against the English team in June 1986. He remained unbeaten on 126 runs in the first innings of the Lord's Test and scored 102 not out in the second innings of the Leeds Test. Dravid, who led India to a famous series win in England in 2007, twice during his 16-year-long Test career scored a hat trick of centuries against the English team. During the India tour of England in 2002, Dravid scored 115 runs in the second innings of the Nottingham Test and then registered scores of 148 and 217 in the first innings of the next two red-ball matches played at Headingley in Leeds and The Oval. In 2008, when England toured India for a two-match series, Dravid scored 136 runs in the first innings of the second Test played at PCA Stadium in Mohali, and then in the first two matches of India's tour of England in 2011, he scored 103* and 117 in the first innings of matches played at Lord's and Nottingham. Gill scored 110 runs for India in the first innings of the fifth Test played against England at HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala last year and amassed a total of 147 runs in the first Test played against the Ben Stokes-led team at Headingley from June 20 to 24, 2025. First Published: July 02, 2025, 23:51 IST
