IND vs ENG: ‘Shortened Boundary To Help Bazball’

India’s decision to rest Jasprit Bumrah faced flak, but the first day of the second Test belonged to Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The Indian captain brought up his 7th Test hundred at Edgbaston, but the latter missed out on a deserving century with a rash shot off Ben Stokes.

Ravindra Jadeja and Gill steadied the ship with a 99-run partnership, and India will hope to continue the rebuild when play resumes on day two. Edgbaston is usually known for high-scoring games and with India crossing the 300-run hurdle, the aim will be to pile up as many runs as possible on the board. England’s ‘Bazball’ approach has been the talk of the town, and Steven Finn highlighted a critical aspect connected directly with England’s strategy.

The former England pacer noticed that the boundary was shortened and it wasn’t in its usual position on the ground. On the BBC broadcast, he said, “So we’re here at Edgbaston. I stood right by the boundary rope, which is a considerable way in from where you may anticipate for a normal Test match.

“England and their propensity to want to win the toss, bowl first and chase in the last innings maybe is the reason why those boundaries have come so far in.”

Despite all the challenges, Shubman Gill stood tall on his ground and countered the English bowlers with his usual finesse and elegance. He has now scored successive Test hundreds as Test captain and has also surpassed MS Dhoni’s total tally of 15 international centuries.

He has also joined an exclusive club featuring Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly, becoming the 5th Indian captain to record successive 50+ scores. Both Gill and Jadeja are holding the fort and are facing an uphill task to navigate the challenges on day two. If these two can manage to successfully counter the new ball, India can hope to get their rhythm as the day goes forward.