Leeds: India bossed the opening day on their tour to England as Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rishabh Pant piled up some big runs to take the visitors to 359/3 at Leeds on Friday, June 20.
Newly-appointed captain Gill walked back unbeaten on 127 with vice-captain Pant going unscathed on 65, with India taking control of the proceedings at Headingley. Earlier, Jasiwal had slammed a scintillating century too.
England had opted to bowl first, with precedent suggesting they to chase later. All six previous matches at Headingley have been won by teams bowling first. However, the Indian batters batted with solidarity and mowed down the already depleted English bowling line-up, which was without Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer.
With hardly any swing and seam on offer, Chris Woakes and co. looked toothless. Ben Stokes was the most potent bowler, with others struggling for control big time. The England skipper bagged two wickets while Brydon Carse got one in an otherwise off day for the bowlers.
Jaiswal and Gill slammed centuries to register several milestones along the way. Jaiswal has become the first player to hit tons in his first Test in both Australia and England. Meanwhile, Gill, on his captaincy debut hit an unbeaten hundred on the opening day.
Gill has become just the fourth Indian player ever to score a hundred in his maiden Test innings, joining the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli, and Vijay Hazare.
Vijay Hazare: 164* vs England in Delhi in 1951
Sunil Gavaskar: 116 vs New Zealand in Auckland in 1976
Virat Kohli: 115 vs Australia vs Australia in Adelaide in 2014
Earlier, India were asked to bat first after England captain Ben Stokes had won the toss. “We’ll bowl. Headingley is a very good cricket wicket. We’ve had some really good games here. Want to try and use the early conditions. Been a long time coming, bit strange that this is just the second series, but we’re ready. It’s been mixed, some lads have played county cricket, and we’ve had three days of really good cricket. Usual suspects in the top seven, Woakes, Brydon, Bashir, Tongue, and I make up the bowling,” England captain Ben Stokes said at the toss.
“Would’ve bowled first as well, might be a bit tough in the first session, but it should be good to bat on later. The sun is out, should be a good batting deck for us. Preparation has been amazing, we played a practice game in Beckenham, and the lads are feeling great. Sai makes his debut, and Karun comes in. Sai will bat at three,” India skipper Gill said.
