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India reached 182/3 at tea on Day 1 of the second Test vs England.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for a well-made 87 (Picture credit: AP)
A soft dismissal denied Yashasvi Jaiswal a well-deserved hundred as India reached 182/3 at tea on Day 1 of the second Test against England on Wednesday.
Skipper Shubman Gill looked comfortable alongside his deputy Rishabh Pant on one other favourable batting pitch within the five-match series.
England captain Ben Stokes, known for his knack of picking up unexpected wickets, had Jaiswal caught behind off a brief and wide ball. Jaiswal went too hard on the delivery, leading to an easy catch for Jamie Smith behind the stumps.
With little motion through the session, English fans in the long-lasting Eric Hollies Stand made loads of noise to encourage the house side. India added 84 runs in 28 overs through the session, losing just Jaiswal.
Within the thirty fourth over, Gill survived a DRS LBW call off a Brydon Carse ball due to an inside edge.
Facing the only spinner Shoaib Bashir, Gill stepped out every now and then and on one occasion, dispatched him over extra cover.
Pant joined Gill late within the session, taking his time to settle before using his feet to smack Bashir for a six over mid-on.
Earlier, Jaiswal maintained his aggression despite being tested by England’s pacers, while Karun Nair (31 off 50) showed promise at number three before being dismissed late within the morning session.
Considering the overhead conditions, Stokes opted to bowl, but Jaiswal and Nair survived the tough period. In the primary hour, KL Rahul (2 off 26) played onto his stumps off a Chris Woakes ball before Jaiswal and Nair added 80 runs for the second wicket.
Carse got one to rise minutes before lunch, inducing an out of doors edge off Nair’s bat that went to Harry Brook at second slip.
There wasn’t much swing on offer, however the ball did seam through the first hour of play. Carse targeted Jaiswal’s rib cage often, however the latter remained unscathed.
Jaiswal began with a two cover drives off Carse, who bowled full to the batter and mixed within the occasional short ball geared toward the body. Besides the next drives, Jaiswal also played a pull and a slap over backward point off Ben Stokes.
Nair, moved up three places within the batting order from the last match, was offered loads of full deliveries from the England pacers, which he drove through cover and the straight boundary.
Before the toss, the boundary ropes being brought in caught the eye of many at Edgbaston.
With premier match-winner Jasprit Bumrah rested, India brought in Akash Deep, while making two interesting changes: leaving out Sai Sudharsan for Washington Sundar and replacing Shardul Thakur with Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Kuldeep Yadav was once more ignored as India selected a second spinner in batting all-rounder Washington Sundar. For a side that struggled to take 20 wickets at Leeds, the choice to strengthen the batting was debatable.
(With PTI Inputs)
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