India vs England: Gill's baptism of fire marks India's new start
Kolkata: No Virat Kohli, no Rohit Sharma, no Ravichandran Ashwin, no Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah available for only three Tests—Shubman Gill's captaincy debut is expected to be nothing less than a baptism of fire as India take on an unpredictable England in a five-Test series starting at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday.
Playing England in England hasn't always been comforting. And to compound the discomfort, the first Test is at Headingley where India were dismissed for 78 the last time they had played there. Leeds has been unusually warm, meaning the pitch may not be as moisture laden as in the past. But since history finds strange ways of repeating itself, India can't take the conditions for granted.
Technique will be paramount to surviving and flourishing in England. India, however, have deeper worries as they try to figure out the top-order. Gill will bat at No. 4, vice-captain Rishabh Pant at 5, meaning KL Rahul is most likely to accompany Yashasvi Jaiswal as opening batter.
That leaves Karun Nair as the most plausible No. 3 even though the uncapped B Sai Sudharsan has done enough and more to throw his hat into the ring. If Nair returns after eight years, it would be a remarkable comeback fuelled by stellar domestic performance, including multiple centuries in the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, a double century for India A, and a strong county stint with Northamptonshire.
Nevertheless, it's possibly the first time in over two decades that India have had to stretch themselves over their one-down option. Between Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, and then Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, India were never made to feel the sting of transition. That said, the last one year of Test cricket hasn't been too pretty for India despite the presence of Kohli and Sharma. A rare home series defeat to New Zealand followed by a sobering loss in Australia possibly expedited the need for new blood and new combinations. It's a punt that India had to take some day. Away from the comfort of home, Gill will usher in a new era.
The pitches in England have flattened out to cater to their inimitable style of batting, so Indians too should find scoring relatively easy. But the fickle overhead conditions continue to be an unsung supporter of seam bowling. This is where the relative inexperience could be ruthlessly exposed.
The good thing is that Gill isn't too perturbed. 'A lot of people talk about, you know, our side is not experienced, but there are also positives that we don't really have any baggage coming to England, because not all of the players have really been to England,' said Gill on Thursday. 'So that could be one thing that really makes a difference for us because we wouldn't be carrying any baggage.'
The same can't be said about England. Their liberating brand of cricket, though entertaining, isn't pretty when they start losing the plot. Which is why England have won 23 and lost 12 Tests since Ben Stokes became captain with Brendon McCullum as coach. 'We know that when we are on top of teams, we are very, very good,' Stokes told the BBC.
'And where we maybe have let ourselves down in the past over the last three years is when we have been behind the game, we've not given ourselves the best chance of wresting ourselves back into the game, and that's an area that we have looked at and know that we need to get better at if we want to end up being where we want to end up being as a team.'
First-innings runs have been an issue for India, considering they have crossed 300 only twice in 10 innings over the past year, but Gill is not in favour of sacrificing bowling edge. 'You can't win a Test match without taking 20 wickets no matter how many runs you score,' he said. 'So, that has been one of our key discussion points, you know, how we're gonna take 20 wickets. And there might be a case, you know, where we could only be going with some pure batters and you could see a bowling allrounder and three to four premier fast bowlers or proper bowlers.'
While that outlook may sound brave right now, it remains to be seen how India react to a batting implosion or worse, a defeat at Leeds. Too ingrained in India's touring psychology is the tendency of packing the 11 with batting options, a tactic that failed miserably in Australia a few months back. This is a new captain though, hopefully armed with a new philosophy that can build on the positives of the past.
'The blueprint that we got from our seniors in the last 5-10 years, we can win anywhere and we will try to follow that same confidence and blueprint,' said Gill. 'And, as I said, if your team has a very good environment, players feel very secure and confident and they know what their role is. So, we want to create that environment in the team. And if we succeed in creating that environment, I think our Test series and the WTC cycle will be very successful.'
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Indian Express
17 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Clear message from Jaiswal and Gill at Leeds: Indian batting story never ends
Quite mature for his age and unusually silent for someone so successful, Yashasvi Jaiswal was once asked by his coach at Rajasthan Royals, the Sri Lankan great Kumara Sangakkara, to loosen up and smile more. Jaiswal would answer matter-of-factly: 'Whenever a situation demands, I do laugh and laugh openly.' At Headingley, on the first day of the India-England five-Test series, Jaiswal did laugh openly. Actually, he went hysterical in the celebration of his first hundred in England, an inning that sent out a strong message to the world: the Indian batting story never ends. A little over a month after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had retired from Test cricket, the news that sent the cricket-crazy nation of a billion-plus fans into a pall of gloom, Jaiswal scored 101 in 159 balls with 16 fours and one six. New captain Shubman Gill compiled an imperious 127 from 175 balls and vice-captain Rishabh Pant had a typically freewheeling 65 from 102 balls, both remaining unbeaten at close. Gill also joined an illustrious list of Indians — Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Virat Kohli — to embrace leadership duties with a statement century, heralding the start of an era. He was in a hurry to court history, scoring at a fast clip, almost getting on with the business of galloping to the greatness goal at a strike rate of 72-plus. He became the 33rd male cricketer to score a hundred on Test captaincy debut. Jaiswal opens the innings like Rohit, and Shubman has taken Kohli's No.4. At least on the first match day after the two big retirements, no one was missed by anyone as India finished at 359 for three. After the day's play, coach Gautam Gambhir was smiling — he, too, grins only when the situation demands. FINALLY A 100 FOR SHUBMAN GILL AT SENA Sorry for underestimating you #INDvsENGTest #INDvENG — BABA YAGA💎 (@169_Melbourne) June 20, 2025 Considering that Indian openers in England rarely do well, and laying the foundation is of utmost importance, Jaiswal's innings was unique and significant. It was an innings that had Kohli's aggression and Sharma's grace. For the 23-year-old who made his Test debut just two years ago, it marked an incredible journey, from living in a tent at Mumbai's Azad maidan with the ground staff to becoming a batsman with the talent, runs and the promise of filling the giant void left behind by the batting greats of Kohli and Rohit's stature. In these parts, they had heard about Jaiswal but never seen him live. When England toured India in 2023, Jaiswal scored two double hundreds. It was the series Kohli missed, but wasn't missed. In England, his senior opening partner, Rohit, too wasn't around but Jaiswal was confident, he was dismissive of the entire England bowling department. There was no wistful looking back, there was overwhelming optimism about Indian cricket's future. Jaiswal, like Virat and Rohit, was once again underlining the fact that he is India's 'day or night, red or white ball' all-format player. Weeks after being among IPL's leading run-getters, with 500-plus runs at an average of over 40, Jaiswal in whites was equally at home and eye-pleasing as well. It wasn't that he was totally transformed, it was just that he made a few nuanced tweaks to his batting. His style had changed but the soul hadn't. Replaying his first three boundaries would help to understand. The first came in the first over of the day. It was all wrist, him guiding a dangerous looking Chris Woakes swinging ball past fourth slip for a four. The crowd and the English players let out their 'ohs' and 'ahs' — trying to convey that this was a streaky strike. The next Jaiswal boundary came up in Woakes's second over. This time, he didn't guide, but pushed the ball with authority past mid-off. Another boundary. This time, no one dared to doubt the correctness of the shot. There was the usual light-regimented English applause from the stands. His third boundary was against the new-ball bowler Brydon Carse, easily the sharpest in the first session. The tall 29-year-old banged the ball short outside off-stump. Jaiswal couldn't stop his hands from reaching the ball. He cut it fiercely to the point boundary. This wasn't good old classic batting but the modern method of making runs in Test matches by new-age all-format players. Even for the rest of the innings, he was cautious but not bottled up. Minor batting setbacks didn't see him abandon his trusted batting approach. Once Woakes beat his outside edge with a peach of a ball that moved away. Next ball, Jaiswal came down the pitch to meet the ball, not allowing the bowler to settle in rhythm and stick to one line. Carse once hit him in the ribs with a nasty short ball. It was the kind of blow that makes batsmen double up in pain and gasp for air. Jaiswal has too much pain in his life to get impacted by the bruise made by a hard ball. In the same over, he hit a perfect straight down the ground drive that would have won him many English fans. He hit a similar breathtaking drive soon, this in the over he survived a DRS appeal. He even attempted a ramp shot over the slip, though he missed that one. There was no stopping Jaiswal. There were no nervous 90s for him, too. Jaiswal has faced enough anxious moments during his days of struggle, managing two square meals, to let numbers intimidate him or force him to lose focus. From 87 to 100 he moved in just one over — hitting three fours and a single off Carse. And once that was done, Jaiswal's so-far somber and serious face changed. The full house at Headingley got to see his emotional outpouring — the centurion jumped, pumped his fists and let out squeals of delight. Jaiswal was grinning as he hugged his captain. Once that was done, he had a small silent moment for himself. He moved away from the pitch and put his head down and had his hands on the knees. Jaiswal once told The Indian Express that he talks to himself when he is alone. 'Most of the time, I have stayed alone and I don't take things easy,' he said. The teenaged boy, living in an Azad Maidan tent, has spent many lonely nights watching the Wankhede lights lit the sky, and dreamt. He wants his dreams to come true and also those private little moments probably to pinch himself.
Time of India
22 minutes ago
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IND vs ENG: Sanjay Manjrekar roasts Virat Kohli during commentary; video goes viral
Sanjay Manjrekar and Virat Kohli (Agency Photo) NEW DELHI: Day 1 of the India vs England Test at Headingley was all about Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill 's brilliance with the bat, but it also included a moment that stirred up fans online, a veiled dig at Virat Kohli by former cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar . While praising KL Rahul and Jaiswal's shot selection and patience outside the off-stump, Manjrekar made a seemingly innocuous remark that quickly turned viral. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! 'So a lot of what you're seeing is being created by these two batters. And my hat, there's another example of it we know of. A former batter would have gone after that delivery and got himself into trouble, but not these two. And that's why I believe,' he said on-air. Social media users were quick to interpret the comment as a swipe at Virat Kohli, who has often struggled with off-stump discipline in recent years, especially during the India-Australia Tests. Kohli's tendency to chase deliveries outside off has been a known weakness, and it appears Manjrekar subtly referenced that pattern. The comment comes just weeks after Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket in May, ending a 14-year-long red-ball career that saw him score 9,230 runs in 123 matches, including 27 centuries. Despite his achievements, Kohli's final phase in Tests was marked by a string of dismissals edging to the slips. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 14, watches in awe as Yashasvi Jaiswal celebrates century Meanwhile, on the field, India's new-look batting order flourished. Gill, in his debut match as Test captain, led from the front with a composed 127 not out and joined legends like Gavaskar and Kohli in scoring a century in his first Test as skipper. Jaiswal's fluent 101 further solidified India's dominant position, with the team finishing at a commanding 359/3. Though Kohli may have exited the Test scene, his presence and criticism continues to echo, even subtly, in commentary boxes. Manjrekar's remark may not have named him, but fans heard it loud and clear. Game On Season 1 kicks off with Sakshi Malik's inspiring story. Watch Episode 1 here
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24 minutes ago
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Yashasvi Jaiswal achieves HISTORIC feat never done before by Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli or Viv Richards
Yashasvi Jaiswal. New Delhi: This is an achievement that no other batsman has ever achieved in history of cricket, be it a legend like Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin, Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakkara, Virat Kohli or AB de Villiers. None has achieved what Yashasvi Jaiswal did, even being in quite different times and on different teams. The Indian opening batter registered his fifth Test century on Friday in the first Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Headingley in Leeds, a new record in the field of sport. It was the fifth Test hundred scored by Jaiswal in all and third against England, and importantly the first on English soil, in his maiden series at the venue. It became part of the history, marking his name in the record books as the first foreign batter to score centuries in debut Tests in England and Australia. The Indian opening batter, who made a triumphant 161 in his first ever Test at Perth against Australia during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar trophy, arrived in England to continue to announce himself in international cricket. On Friday he further adorned his cap by scoring his maiden Test century in England, and again on the first day of taking the field on English soil. Interestingly, Sachin Tendulkar did score a hundred in his first tours to England and Australia during his maiden Test tours to both countries, but it was not his first match he played in these countries. The first century of his career in England was made at his second Test against England at Manchester, and his first century in Australia was also at the third Test held in Adelaide. When Jaiswal hit back-to-back over boundaries off Brydon Carse during the 49th over, he scored his century on the last delivery with a single. He was unable to hold back his emotion, roared, and celebrated wildly which is a conclusive statement to the spectators at Headingley as well as fans worldwide that he now has Test centuries in Australia and West Indies and in England. The left hander, who made a hundred on his Test debut against the West Indies, had earlier accrued over 700 runs in the home series versus England last season. The century was scored in a time when there were serious concerns of how India new-age batting line-up would be in overseas conditions now that stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had retired.
