New Delhi: Legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar was in awe of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Shubman Gill for their impressive knocks on the opening day of the second Test against England at Edgbaston that pushed them to 310/5 at stumps.
Under overcast skies at the toss, an unchanged England side had no hesitation in choosing to bowl first. In contrast, India made three changes to their lineup from the Leeds Test and shuffled key positions in search of greater batting depth - a strategy that was tested right from the opening day. Despite a brief evening collapse, Gill anchored the innings with a composed, unbeaten 114, forging a crucial unbroken 99-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja (41*) to steady the ship and take India to stumps without further loss.
However, it was Jaiswal's fluent knock that set the tone in a morning session of contrasting phases after India lost KL Rahul early. England's new-ball bowlers, particularly Chris Woakes, extracted movement and extra bounce early on, but managed just one wicket for their efforts. Jaiswal played a knock of 87 and was involved in two crucial 50-plus partnerships with Karun Nair and Gill.
