July 3, 2025 - Captain Shubman Gill (114*) scored a century in the first Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and continued his good form in Birmingham. On the first day of the second Test, he made Indian fans happy with his solid batting. Gill showed great patience and focus to score his second consecutive century, putting Team India in a strong position on Wednesday, July 2.

By the end of the day, India had scored 310 runs for the loss of five wickets. Ravindra Jadeja was at the crease with Gill, unbeaten on 41. Gill scored his seventh Test century and his second in this series in 199 balls. It was the slowest century of his career, but it came at a very important time for India. With this, he became the third Indian batsman to score three consecutive Test centuries against England. This was also his second century as captain.

Before Gill, only Mohammad Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar and Rahul Dravid have scored three consecutive Test centuries against England.

Less Swing, More Control

In this match, India batted first after losing the toss. England captain Ben Stokes once again won the toss at Edgbaston and chose to bowl. There was a little grass on the pitch, but it looked dry underneath. In the first hour, the ball moved a bit off the seam, but there was not much swing.

Partnership Between Gill and Jadeja

The England bowlers tried hard, but the Indian batsmen stayed calm and focused. Many people questioned the decision to rest fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, but Gill played a responsible and confident innings as captain. When India was at 211/5 in the second session, it looked like the lower order might collapse again, like in the Leeds Test. But Gill and Ravindra Jadeja stayed strong and added an unbeaten 99-run partnership to steady the innings.

Yashasvi Misses Century

Yashasvi Jaiswal started aggressively, hitting two beautiful cover drives off Kars and then played a pull shot and some fine boundaries off Stokes. He made 87 runs from 107 balls, including 14 fours and a big six. But a poor shot ended his innings. He tried to cut a short and wide delivery from Stokes, but the ball took the edge and went straight to the wicketkeeper Jamie Smith. Stokes dismissed Yashasvi for the third time in this series. In the first Test too, he got him out in both innings. Before getting out, Yashasvi had added 80 runs for the second wicket with Karun Nair.

Rahul and Karun Out Early

India lost KL Rahul early in the first session. He scored just 2 runs before getting bowled by Chris Woakes with a ball that bounced from the off stump. Karun Nair, who came in at number three, played some nice drives but was caught in the slips before lunch after scoring 31 runs.

Pant and Nitish Fall to Bad Shots

Rishabh Pant, who had scored centuries in both innings of the Leeds Test, started his innings by hitting a six over midwicket off spinner Shoaib Bashir. But he soon got out trying another big shot and was caught by Zak Crawley. Nitish Kumar Reddy could stay for only six balls. He was bowled by Woakes, as the ball came in and hit the off stump.