Shubman Gill ‘made Bazball lick dust': India captain's historic Edgbaston high joins Gabba, Cape Town folklore
Shubman Gill put on a show for the ages, dismantling England's bowling with twin gems — a marathon 269 in the first innings and a fluent 161 in the second. His poise, shot selection, and dominance across both knocks anchored India's batting and underlined his rise as a world-class Test batter. On the bowling front, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep stepped up in Jasprit Bumrah's absence. Siraj's six-wicket burst in the first innings set the tone, and Akash matched it with a fiery six-for in the second, flattening England's resistance and sealing India's emphatic win.
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra discussed India's emphatic performance and pointed out the stellar efforts of Gill, Siraj, and Akash Deep in scripting history.
"It was both record-breaking and record-making. History has been created at the Edgbaston ground. Captain (Shubman) Gill had laid the foundation, with a mountain of runs. More than 1000 runs, the first time ever in the history of Indian Test cricket, and then if it was Miyan Magic (Mohammed Siraj) in the first innings, it was Akash Deep in the second innings," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
England's outing in the second Test at Edgbaston ended in disappointment, as they slumped to a heavy 336-run defeat at the hands of a commanding Indian team. Despite moments of flair that reflected their trademark 'Bazball' style, the hosts failed to sustain pressure across sessions. Individual efforts stood out, but collectively, they were comprehensively outclassed by an Indian side that excelled with both bat and ball to level the series in emphatic fashion.
'We're conquering frontiers': Aakash Chopra
Chopra pointed out India's recent record of breaching overseas fortresses in red-ball cricket with iconic wins in Cape Town, Perth, Brisbane and now Birmingham.
"We had never won at Edgbaston to date, but we have done that now. If we see the last few overseas wins, we have created history every time. We had never won in Cape Town, the Optus Stadium in Perth, and the Gabba, but we have won there now. We are conquering frontiers we hadn't conquered thus far. We made Bazball lick dust. This win needs to be celebrated. We have outplayed the opposing team in every department," he added.
Meanwhile, skipper Shubman has confirmed that leading pacer Jasprit Bumrah will return to the playing XI for the Lord's Test, where they will look to take a 2-1 lead in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
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