Headingley turns into run haven for centurions Jaiswal, Gill

This was meant to be a probing examination of character, courage and skill. It was a test India’s top order met with aplomb, lording the exchanges for most part of Day One of the five-Test series against England. At stumps, India were 359-3.

Put in bat by Ben Stokes at Headingley on Friday, India bedded down but weren’t content to just grind it out. They stacked up the runs attractively and without fuss, Shubman Gill (127 not out) leading the way in his first outing as captain with no little help from Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and his deputy, Rishabh Pant (65 not out).

Super skipper 

Gill’s elevation to the captaincy in the immediacy of Rohit Sharma’s retirement was met with mixed reactions, his record outside the subcontinent held against him. Since making 91 against Australia in Brisbane in early 2021, he hadn’t topped 36 in 18 innings outside Asia. The 25-year-old couldn’t have chosen a more opportune time to end that barren run, breezing to his sixth Test century with authority, panache and supreme grace.

Gill made his entry into the middle immediately after lunch on the first day of the first Test, which India had gone into after losing two wickets for one run in the space of five deliveries. Rahul was gobbled up by Brydon Carse after an opening salvo of 91 with Yashasvi Jaiswal (101), while Sai Sudharsan’s debut lasted a mere four deliveries before he was strangled down leg by Stokes without scoring.

England sensed an opening even though Jaiswal was purring along beautifully. One of the great theories in sport is to cut off the head of the snake, so they came hard at Gill, but India’s skipper was in great touch. An early five, courtesy four overthrows, got him going and the right-hander then unleashed a flurry of spectacular strokes, all typically Gill in that they were unhurried, the ball hardly struck in anger.

There was much to cheer for a primarily pro-England crowd which still enjoyed the sumptuous batting feast on show. Jaiswal struck the ball ferociously, especially square on the off-side as he backed up centuries in his first Test in the Caribbean and in Australia with a three-figure knock in his first match on English soil. Gill, on the other hand, was all fluid elegance, moving beautifully, bringing his patented chop-cut into play repeatedly and leaving Stokes and the England attack scratching their heads as they sought ways and means to prevent his progress.

Jaiswal falls after tea

When Jaiswal fell shortly after tea, following a stand of 129, Gill changed his approach. On 63 off 79 deliveries at that point, he embraced greater caution and helped Pant play himself in. But despite a drop in his rate of scoring, there was neither edginess nor desperation. His tryst with three figures came fittingly through a gorgeous cover-driven four off Josh Tongue. As opening statements go, this one from captain Gill will be hard to match.

5
No. of players, including Shubman Gill, who have scored a Test century on captaincy debut

This article first appeared on Mid Day