Skipper Shubman Gill continued his purple patch with a majestic second-innings 161, following his masterly 269 in the first, as India tightened their grip over England on day four of the second Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test at Edgbaston. At stumps on Saturday, England were reeling at 72/3, chasing a daunting target of 608.
Gill, leading from the front, struck 13 fours and eight sixes in his eighth Test century – his third in just four innings as captain. With a match aggregate of 430 runs, he now holds the record for the second-most runs in a single Test, behind England’s Graham Gooch (456), and is the first player to score 200 and 150 in the same match.
Resuming the day at 28, KL Rahul brought up his fifty before being bowled for 55 by Josh Tongue. Karun Nair survived a barrage of short balls from Brydon Carse but fell for 26. Rishabh Pant’s enterprising 65 added impetus to India’s innings, with the wicketkeeper-batter surviving an early drop before attacking the spinners with sweeps and pulls. Pant shared a 91-run stand with Gill, who took charge after reaching his half-century off 57 balls.
Ravindra Jadeja (69* off 95 balls) provided stability from one end, adding an unbeaten 68 with Gill before the latter was dismissed while attempting another big shot off Shoaib Bashir. India eventually declared at 427/6 in 83 overs, giving themselves four sessions to bowl England out.
Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj made early inroads with the new ball. Siraj removed Zak Crawley for a seven-ball duck, while Akash sent back Ben Duckett (25) and Joe Root (6), the latter bowled through the gate with a delivery that angled in and nipped away.
Harry Brook (24*) and Ollie Pope (15*) saw off the final few overs of the day, but with seven wickets in hand and 536 runs still needed, England face an improbable task heading into the final day. India, on the other hand, are just seven wickets away from levelling the five-Test series 1-1, provided rain does not intervene.
Brief Scores:
India 587 & 427/6 decl in 83 overs (Gill 161, Pant 65, Rahul 55, Jadeja 69*; Tongue 2/93, Bashir 2/119)
England 407 & 72/3 in 16 overs (Duckett 25; Akash Deep 2/36, Siraj 1/29)
England need 536 runs to win; India need 7 wickets
