Shubman Gill registered his first win as a captain of the Test team against England in Edgbaston on Sunday, July 06. It was a record-breaking win as well as the visitors had never won a Test match at the ground in the previous eight attempts. The 25-year-old played a starring role in the win as his match aggregate of 430 runs earned him a Player of the Match award. However, the India skipper openly criticized the conditions in Birmingham were heavily in favor of batters rather than bowlers.
For the unversed, India scored over 1000 runs, which was the most they scored in a Test match. Also, the visitors' bowlers made the most of the Dukes' ball in the first 30 overs only. After that, the bowlers kept on toiling hard as the surface offered very little help for the bowlers. Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj made the most of it as their respective six-fers helped set up a huge win for India.
Advertisement
"It gets very difficult for the bowlers," the Indian captain said on Sunday (July 6) after the visitors drew level in the series with victory by 336 runs. "Even more than the pitch, the ball is going soft and out of shape very quickly. I don't know what it is - weather, pitches, or whatever - but it gets very difficult for the bowlers to get wickets in these conditions. As a team, when you know it is difficult to get wickets and runs are coming easily, a lot of things are out of your control.
"I think there should be a little help at least. If the ball is doing something, you enjoy playing. If you know there are only 20 overs of any help and then you have to spend the rest of the day on the defensive, thinking how to stop runs, then the game loses its essence."
Shubman Gill lauds the efforts of Siraj & Akash Deep
Shubman Gill was effusive in praise for his two lead bowlers Siraj and Akash Deep. The skipper also heaped praise on Prasidh Krishna for managing to bowl well in the second innings after copping heavy criticism in the first innings of the Edgbaston Test.
Also Read: IND vs ENG 2025: Watch - Yashasvi Jaiswal Gifts His Bat To A Young Fan, Makes His Day
"Both of them took 16-17 wickets. That itself is a big, big achievement coming into this Test match, especially without Jasprit [Bumrah] bhai. There were a lot of questions if we would be able to take those 20 wickets. And the way these two guys delivered was just outstanding. I have no words to describe."
After the twin batting collapses in the first Leeds Test, Gill took it upon himself to bat England out of the second Test. His innings of 269 and 161 runs allowed the bowlers luxury to go hard at the English batters. With the series 1-1 squared up, the third Test at Lord's on Thursday, July 10 promises to be a cracking affair.
