A record breaking doubled hundred from captain Shubman Gill put India in firm control of the second Test against England as they coasted to 564 for seven at tea on day two here on Thursday.
At the break, England had run out of ideas to stop Gill (265 batting off 380 balls), who forged a 144-run alliance with Washington Sundar (42 off 103).
The pitch remains flat and it would be a challenge for an inexperienced Indian bowling attack to take 20 wickets.
The friendly batting conditions, however, doesn’t take the sheen away from Gill’s epic double.
For someone who had expressed his desire to be the best batter of the series, he is well on course to meet his target after becoming the first Asian captain to score a double hundred in England.
In the Indian context, he surpassed the great Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid to log the highest individual score by an Indian batter in England.
Beyond the numbers, what makes Gill’s feat remarkable is that the high profile series is his first as Test captain.
He has also made the number four his own following the retirement of Virat Kohli.
Having hardly put a foot wrong with the bat, Gill also ensured that India did not cede the advantage to England from a strong position like they had done in Leeds in the series opener.
With England short ball ploy not working and Shoaib Bashir being taken to the cleaners by Gill, England brought part timers Harry Brook and Joe Root in a desperate attempt.
The skipper collected five boundaries off Brook while Sundar held his ground at the other hand.
The left-hander, who has played ahead of Kuldeep Yadav, was peppered by some short stuff from Josh Tongue before deciding to take the bait and pulling him over fine leg.
Gill was stuck on 199 for a while but the moment finally arrived when Gill pulled Tongue for a single towards fine leg.
Brief Scores: India 587 in 151 overs (Shubman Gill 269, Ravindra Jadeja 89; Shoaib Bashir 3-167, Chris Woakes 2-81) against England
Gill slams 265; takes India to 564/7 at tea
Birmingham, Jul 3 (PTI)
