Indian skipper Shubman Gill's record knock embarrasses Poms on home turf
After winning the first Test in Leeds by five wickets, Ben Stokes' home side confidently sent India in to bat at Edgbaston after winning the toss.
Two days and 151 overs later, India was finally dismissed for a mammoth 587, the highest score conceded during the Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum era.
Gill provided a magnificent backbone to the innings, with his 269 the highest score ever by an Indian skipper, surpassing Virat Kohli's unbeaten 254 against South Africa in 2019.
It was also the best performance by an Indian in England, easily passing the great Sunil Gavaskar's 221 at The Oval way back in 1979, and the highest Indian score in a Test outside Asia.
While the always confident Englishmen said they 'one hundred per cent' could still turn the match around, they went to stumps at 3/77, just the 510 runs behind.
Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, who scored tons in the first Test victory, both fell for a duck in reply before Joe Root (18 not out) and Harry Brook (30no) survived to stumps.
Gill was the man of the moment, however, with cricket fans heaping well deserved praise on the humble 25-year-old, particularly his compatriots.
It is only Gill's second Test match as skipper and comes after his 147 at Headingley.
Former Indian cricketer Kris Srikkanth tweeted: 'What else is there to say when a player of just 25 years creates history in the land where cricket was born! What a knock, I was hoping for a triple but looking at this young legend play its not too far in the future!'
Current teammate Mohammed Shami wrote: 'Some knocks are just special. This one? Truly historic. 269 in England — the highest ever by an Indian. Take a bow, skipper.'
After Ravi Jadeja chipped in with a valuable 89, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar was quick to celebrate both players.
'Very pleased to see the intent and commitment shown by Shubman Gill and Ravi Jadeja today. Well played!' he wrote.
Former Aussie opener David Warner posted a photo to Instagram of Gill's knock and included the caption: 'Proper innings that.'
Ex-Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also tweeted: 'An absolute master class from Shubman Gill
.. just flawless .. one of the best innings I have seen in England in any era .. so much improvement in the last few months .. probably opening was not his place in Test cricket .. A Test to win for india.'
After the day's play, Gill said work he'd done in the build-up to the tour of England was paying dividends in his record-breaking double century.
England's 3/77 at stumps actually represented a recovery after Akash Deep, only playing after India rested Jasprit Bumrah, the world's top-ranked Test bowler, reduced England to 2/13 with two wickets in consecutive deliveries.
'I worked on a few things before the series as well, that I thought might be important for me going into Test cricket,' Gill told Sky Sports after stumps.
'Looking at the results, they are working for me.'
India, bidding for just a fourth series win in England after triumphs in 1971, 1986 and 2007, were made to pay for dropping several chances in Leeds.
But, all three of their wickets on Thursday came via sharp slip catches, with Gill helping Deep dismiss opener Duckett, who made 149 in the first Test, for a duck.
'Spending 151 overs in the dirt in any scenario is pretty tough,' England assistant coach Jeetan Patel told reporters.
'There's some tired minds and tired bodies.
'Credit to Shubman for the way he's batted over two days, it was a masterclass in how to bat on a good wicket.'
Draws are not on England's radar in the Bazball era, with Stokes' men having defied cricketing conventional wisdom by winning on three different occasions after conceding over 500 runs.
Former New Zealand spinner Patel, asked if England could turn things round at Edgbaston, replied: 'One hundred per cent … there is lots of cricket to go on a fast-scoring ground and you never know what can happen.'
India all-rounder Jadeja, who added 203 for the sixth-wicket with Gill, responded: 'In cricket, in press conferences, you can talk whatever you want to talk.
'It's none of my business, but at the end of the day you have to go out and perform and take those 20 wickets. That's all that matters.'
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