&w=3840&q=100)
India's new Test era off to strong start as Jaiswal, Gill, Rahul show batting concerns were overhyped
India have begun their first Test series in the post-Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli era with a strong performance in the opening Test against England at Headingley, Leeds. With both Rohit and Kohli having recently retired from red-ball cricket, many fans and experts were concerned about how the Indian batting line-up would deal without their two senior-most players.
However, those fears were quickly put to rest on Day 1 as the new-look batting order stepped up and showcased their strength. India, under the leadership of new Test captain Shubman Gill, looked composed and confident as they dominated Day 1 after being asked to bat first by England on a hot and sunny day.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
India's new era begins with a bang
The stars of the day were Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, with both scoring fluent centuries. Jaiswal started the show by hitting 101 off 159 balls. This was Jaiswal's fifth Test century and his first in England. He looked in complete control as he targetted England bowlers all around the park before getting bowled by Ben Stokes just after reaching his hundred.
Captain Shubman Gill also impressed with his batting, just as he had promised during the pre-match press conference. He led from the front with an unbeaten century, showing solid technique and calmness under pressure. This is his first Test innings as India's new captain, and he seems to be relishing the responsibility, like his predecessor Virat Kohli, who also scored a century on his captaincy debut.
Top-order fires with the bat
KL Rahul, another senior figure in the team, also played a crucial role with a composed 42 off 78 balls. His partnership with Jaiswal at the top of the order early in the day gave India a steady start. Rahul looked in great touch before he was dismissed by Brydon Carse while attempting a drive that went straight to Joe Root at slips. Even though Rahul looked a bit frustrated with himself after getting out, he had done his job as an opener by seeing off the new ball.
After the third wicket, Rishabh Pant joined Gill in the middle and has looked solid so far. He is playing in the usual Rishabh Pant style and is currently batting on 57 off 95 balls, keeping the scoreboard moving and providing good support to his captain. In the process of reaching his fifty, Pant completed 3000 Test runs and became the second quickest wicketkeeper-batter after Adam Gilchrist to do so.
The only blip for India on the opening day was debutant Sai Sudharsan, who fell for a four-ball duck right after Rahul's dismissal in the first session. Despite that, the transition from the Rohit-Kohli era on Day 1 of the 1st Test has shown that the next generation of Indian batters is ready to take up the challenge.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Time of India
IND vs ENG, 2nd Test: Baffling! Ex-Australia all-rounder calls out India's gamble of going with 5 specialist batters
India's Yashasvi Jaiswal, right, celebrates after scoring fifty runs on day one of the second cricket test match between England and India at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell) Former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody has slammed India's team selection for the second Test against England. India revealed its lineup after England won the toss and surprised many by resting its best bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, and not picking wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who was missed in the series-opening loss in Leeds last week. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Sai Sudharsan, who made his Test debut in Leeds, and Shardul Thakur were dropped, while Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar were picked in an attempt to balance batting depth with a side capable of taking 20 wickets. India became the first side to lose a Test after hitting five centuries. Bumrah was replaced by Akash Deep. 'India's selection for this Test is baffling,' Moody wrote on X. 'No Bumrah is one thing, but to only have five specialist batsmen is a gamble. 'The fixation on all-rounders who are there to offer depth with bat and ball has never worked. Specialists are always going to offer more over a Test.' Former head coach and cricketer Ravi Shastri didn't mince his words while expressing his discontent with India's decision to rest the world number one speedster Jasprit Bumrah. 'You have the best fast bowler in the world, and you make him sit out after seven days' rest. It's something very hard to believe, and I can't agree with it,' Shastri said on Sky Sports. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Late selection meeting between Gautam Gambhir, Shubman Gill and Ajit Agarkar near pitch? At the stroke of lunch, India lost Karun Nair (31) and KL Rahul (2), while Yashasvi Jaiswal continued to dazzle, swashbuckling his way to an unbeaten 62 (69) to propel the touring party to 98/2. Shastri reflected on India's exploits in the first session and delivered unstinting praise for Jaiswal. 'I think they will be pretty happy but disappointed with the timing of Nair's dismissal, shortly before lunch. That's when you need to be concentrating hard—but there was very little Nair could do as the ball bounced from a length,' Shastri said. 'Jaiswal batted beautifully—the mix of caution and aggression. He played to his off-side strengths and put anything loose away,' he added. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.


News18
33 minutes ago
- News18
Yashasvi Jaiswal Engages In War Of Words With Ben Stokes
The incident took place during the first session of the first day's play of the ongoing 2nd India-England Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Yashasvi Jaiswal is playing as an opener for India in the second Test against England, which is taking place at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The left-handed batter from Mumbai was India's best batter in the first session. He scored 62 runs from 69 balls with the help of 11 fours and added 80 runs for the second wicket with Karun Nair (31 runs). During his partnership with Nair in the first session of the first day's play at Edgbaston, Jaiswal was seen getting engaged in a war of words with England Test captain and star all-rounder Ben Stokes. In a video getting viral on the internet, Stokes can be seen saying something to Jaiswal after he took a single off his bowling, and the Indian batter gave him an apt response, which was caught in the stump mic. Here's a look: Some heated JAISBALL 🆚 BAZBALL on display! 👀 #ENGvIND 👉 2nd Test, Day 1 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar ➡ — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 2, 2025 Jaiswal, who scored a century (101 runs from 109 balls) for India in the first innings of the first Test played at Headingley in Leeds from June 20 to 24, would like to convert his good start into a big score on Wednesday and help India post a big total in the first innings. If Jaiswal, who has crossed the 50-run mark in each of his first seven Tests against England, manages to score at least 97 runs in the first innings, then he will break Sunil Gavaskar's 49-year-old record and become the fastest Indian batter to score 2000 runs in Test cricket. Gavaskar, who made his Test debut for India against the West Indies in March 1971, crossed the 2000-run mark in Test cricket during his 23rd Test, which was played against the West Indies team in Port of Spain in April 1976. Jaiswal, on the other hand, is playing his 21st Test match for India at Edgbaston. The overall record of being the fastest batter in the world to score 2000 runs in Test cricket is in the name of legendary Australian batter and former captain Donald Bradman. Bradman completed 2000 runs in Test cricket in just his 15th match for the Baggy Greens. First Published: July 02, 2025, 18:38 IST


NDTV
36 minutes ago
- NDTV
Baffled Sunil Gavaskar Blasts India XI vs England: "Kuldeep Yadav Wasn't Picked, Top-Order Is Not Getting..."
Sunil Gavaskar, former Indian cricket team captain, was unhappy with the side's combination for the second Test against England that started in Birmingham on Wednesday. India made three changes to the side that played the first Test including batting allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, spin allrounder Washington Sundar and pacer Akash Deep. However, specialist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was not picked. Gavaskar felt that the Birmingham pitch could have aided Kuldeep's skills. "I'm a little baffled that Kuldeep wasn't picked, because on a pitch like this, where everybody says there's a little more turn," said on Sony Sports (via Sportskeeda) "If your top-order batters are not giving you the runs you expect, then Washington at seven or Nitish Reddy at eight won't necessarily fix that, because those weren't the batters who failed you in the first Test. You scored 830 runs. You didn't score 380 in two innings — it was 830-plus. That's a lot of runs. "So, where you needed strengthening was in the wicket-taking department, not so much in the batting." Former India head coach Ravi Shastri expressed disbelief at India's decision to rest a fully fit Jasprit Bumrah from the second Test against England, asserting that the pace spearhead should not have been given the option to sit out of a crucial game. India, enduring a rough patch in Test cricket since October last year, have managed just one win in their last nine matches, marking their worst run in over a decade. Shubman Gill and his men lost the opening Test against England by five wickets in Leeds. "If you look at the run, India has had, this becomes a very, very important test match. You've lost three against New Zealand, you've lost three against Australia," Shastri told 'Sky Sports'. "You've lost the first Test match here and you want to get back to winning ways. You have the best fast bowler in the world, and you make him sit out after seven days of rest, it's something very hard to believe," he said. Bumrah had claimed his 14th five-wicket haul in the first innings at Leeds. After the toss on Wednesday, Gill told former England batter Michael Atherton that Bumrah was rested to manage his workload. "Just to manage his workload. We did get a good break and this is an important match for us. But the third Test being at Lord's, we think there'll be more in that pitch so we'll use him there,' Gill said.