Centuries from opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Shubman Gill, his first as skipper, fired India to a commanding position in their series opener against England, closing day one of the first test on an imposing 359-3.
Despite the clear, humid Headingley conditions seemingly favouring the batting side, England chose to bowl first on Friday, knowing each of the previous six Leeds Tests had been won by the side bowling first.
Ben Stokes’s decision seemed ill-advised, with India openers KL Rahul and Jaiswal both looking in fine form, but Rahul fell for 42, with the England captain quickly removing debutant Sai Sudharsan for a duck from the final ball before lunch.
Jaiswal and Gill steadied the ship in the afternoon session, however. The opener stormed to his fifth test century, with Gill’s classy ton, an unbeaten 127, putting England on the back foot from the off in the five-match series.
“It was very special, it meant a lot to me,” Jaiswal told the official radio broadcaster for the series, the BBC. “I really enjoyed it because I have worked so much before the series, after the IPL.
“I just wanted to get in and do something for my team, for my country and for myself after the work I have put it. I loved it. There is no secret. I just try to work very hard and have the will and desire to do well whenever I have the opportunity. I will just keep trying to put my team first.”
The pressure was on Gill on his Test bow as captain, with a nation expecting a smooth transition following the retirements of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
India’s fifth-youngest captain at 25 found himself in the firing line in the blink of an eye, after England had initially toiled on an unusually humid Leeds day.
Missing numerous front-line pace bowlers through injury, it was left to Brydon Carse, making his first test start on home soil, to make the crucial breakthrough just as Rahul was settling in before debutant Sudharsan quickly followed him back to the pavilion.
United Arab Emirates Dirham Exchange Rate
