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ENG vs IND 2nd Test Session 2: Gill slams 250; England on back foot
India began the second session in steady fashion, trying to settle again after a 40-minute break, but soon changed the pace and launched a counter-attack with some big shots. Gill maintained his rhythm and brought up his maiden Test double hundred, becoming only the sixth Indian captain to achieve this feat. He also became the first Asian batter to cross the 200-run mark in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries.
Gill was brilliantly supported by Sundar, who played big shots of his own to help India cross the much-anticipated 500-run mark. By this point, England's bowlers appeared in complete disarray and began delivering more loose balls, making batting even easier for the Indian pair. As a result, Gill converted his double hundred into 250 in under an hour and broke Sachin Tendulkar's record of 254 for the highest Test score by an Indian skipper.
India lost another wicket just at the stroke of the tea break, as Joe Root dismissed Sundar for 42 to finally expose India's lower order.
By the time the session ended, India had added 150 more runs to their total with the loss of just one wicket. Shubman Gill (265 not out) and Washington Sundar (39 not out) will again be the two batters to resume India's proceedings in the third and final session of the day.
Earlier, resuming from an overnight strong position, India added 109 runs in the first session while losing just one wicket. Captain Shubman Gill continued his rich form, bringing up his maiden Test 150 and becoming only the second Indian skipper after Mohammad Azharuddin to do so.
Ravindra Jadeja provided solid support, completing his 23rd Test half-century before falling for 89 while trying to accelerate. The duo added a commanding 200-run stand for the fifth wicket—the second instance of an Indian pair achieving such a partnership at Edgbaston, after Jadeja and Rishabh Pant's 222-run stand in 2022.
Despite occasional movement from Chris Woakes and some sharp bouncers from England's pacers, the Indian batters looked untroubled. A brief on-field altercation occurred over Jadeja's movement on the pitch after a shot, but it was quickly defused.
India 1st Inning
564-7 (141 ov) CRR:4.00
Batter Dismissal R B 4s 6s SR
Yashasvi Jaiswal c JL Smith b B Stokes 87 107 13 0 81.31
KL Rahul b C Woakes 2 26 0 0 7.69
Karun Nair c H Brook b B Carse 31 50 5 0 62
Shubman Gill (C) Not out 265 380 30 3 69.74
Rishabh Pant (WK) c Z Crawley b S Bashir 25 42 1 1 59.52
Nitish Kumar Reddy b C Woakes 1 6 0 0 16.67
Ravindra Jadeja c JL Smith b JC Tongue 89 137 10 1 64.96
Washington Sundar b J Root 42 103 3 1 40.78
Akash Deep Not out 0 3 0 0 0
Extras 22 (b 6, Ib 6, w 2, nb 8, p 0)
Total 564 (7 wkts, 141 Ov)
Bowler O M R W NB ECO
Chris Woakes 25 6 81 2 2 3.24
Brydon Carse 24 3 83 1 0 3.46
Josh Tongue 23 0 111 1 2 4.83
Ben Stokes 19 0 74 1 4 3.89
Shoaib Bashir 40 2 152 1 0 3.8
Joe Root 5 0 20 1 0 4
Harry Brook 5 0 31 0 0 6.2
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