England’s Chris Woakes was left calling for a law change after a dramatic day that saw Shubman Gill lead from the front once more with a second hundred in as many matches as India captain to keep England at bay at Edgbaston on Wednesday.
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Gill’s 114 not out was the cornerstone of India’s 310-5 at stumps on the first day of the second Test, with Yashasvi Jaiswal contributing a typically entertaining 87.
India lost two wickets in quick succession to be 211-5 but all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (41 not out) helped Gill avoid a further collapse in an unbroken stand of 99.
Gill, however, knows better than anyone that individual milestones are no guarantee of team success.
In the first Test at Headingley, India posted five individual hundreds, including Gill’s 147, and still lost — the first time this had happened in more than 60,000 games of first-class cricket.
Batting collapses of 7-41 and 6-31 cost India dear before England, making light of a seemingly stiff target of 371, won by five wickets to go 1-0 up in a five-match series.
But there is no denying the 25-year-old Gill, thrust into the India captaincy following the shock retirement of Rohit Sharma, has been leading by example with the bat.
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England captain Ben Stokes, as he did in Leeds, again opted to field after winning the toss, with England having achieved their all-time record fourth innings victory chase of 378 at Edgbaston, against India, three years ago.
KL Rahul, fresh from a hundred at Headingley, rarely looked comfortable as he laboured for a 26-ball two that ended when he played on to Chris Woakes.
Both Woakes (2-59 in 21 overs) and new-ball partner Brydon Carse (1-49 in 16) kept things tight.
But the pressure England had exerted in a first hour where India were held to 37-1 off 13 overs was released by Josh Tongue, whose 13 wicketless overs cost 66 runs.
England, however, would have been in a stronger position had a couple of close lbw reviews not gone against them on umpire’s call, with Karun Nair spared on five after playing no shot to Woakes before being dismissed for 31.
“That is a f***ing joke,” Woakes was caught saying to himself on the big screen, according to ESPNcricinfo after the on-field decision was upheld, and later he called for a law change after the day’s play.
“I need to be careful. I’ve had some (decisions) go my way over the years,” Woakes said.
“In general, DRS has been good for the game. A lot more right decisions are given (than before).
“The only thing I would like to come in is that if a batsman decides to leave the ball and it’s still hitting the stumps, I think that should be out – regardless if it’s clipping or not.”
The Nair decision followed another close LBW appeal against Jaiswal on 12, leaving Woakes lamenting at the end of the day that England could have “easily had them 30 for 30”.
“It was a pretty frustrating morning,” he added.
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Left-hander Jaiswal went on to complete a 59-ball fifty, where 40 of his runs came in fours, with consecutive boundaries off fast bowler Tongue, a hook followed by a rasping cut.
Jaiswal, 62 not out at lunch, look destined for another hundred after his 101 at Headingley until caught behind flat-footedly edging a cut off a loose Stokes delivery, with India then 161-3.
New batsman Rishabh Pant, who in Leeds became only the second wicketkeeper in Test history to score two hundreds in a match, was relatively restrained in taking 23 balls to score his first boundary — a six off Shoaib Bashir.
The off-spinner, however, had his revenge when Pant (25) holed out to long-on. India’s 208-4 became 211-5 when the recalled Nitesh Kumar Reddy was bowled playing no shot to a Woakes delivery that nipped back off the seam.
But in the over before England took the new ball, Gill swept part-time off-spinner Joe Root for consecutive fours to complete a watchful 199-ball hundred, including 11 boundaries.
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India made three changes ahead of the second Test, notably resting Jasprit Bumrah after it was announced before the series the outstanding fast bowler would only feature in three of the five Tests in order to protect his fitness following a back injury.
That decision did not sit well with former India head coach Ravi Shastri.
“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.
The third Test at Lord’s starts just four days after the scheduled end of the game in Birmingham.
Akash Deep was given the unenviable task of replacing Bumrah, the world’s number one-ranked Test bowler.