CHENNAI: EVER since Shubman Gill was made Test captain after retirements of veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, all talk have been about the Indian team ushering in a new era in the longest format of the game.
Given the tough task at hand in the form of a five-match Test series in England, it was obvious to cast doubts on the youngsters' potential, especially in tough English conditions where even the best failed to meet expectations. Past performances there only added weights to the talk as India touched the English shores.
All those doubts, however, gave way to a new hope as the 25-year-old Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal slammed centuries each on Day 1 of the first Test in Leeds, Headingley on Friday to guide India to a commanding position against hosts England.
While the hundred is a big relief for the Indian skipper given his shows overseas (the latest century was his only second away from home with the first one coming against Bangladesh), Jaiswal's ton on his maiden Test outing in England yet again cemented his growing stature in red-ball cricket (he scored 161 in the second innings of his first match on Australian soil before this).
Early this year, India lost a five-match Test series Down Under 1-3, handing over the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia after retaining it for more than nine years. One reason for the loss was a middling show by established Indian batters, including Kohli and Sharma. Amid the ruins, Jaiswal, however, stood tall scoring 391 runs, including a hundred. He finished as the second-leading scorer behind Australia's Travis Head (448 runs from nine innings).
Since returning from Australia, the 23-year-old has had an interesting few months. First, the UP-born, Mumbai batter made a shock announcement to switch his allegiance to Goa only to make a U-turn a month later. He then had an up and down IPL season scoring 559 runs from 14 matches but could manage only 110 runs (24, 64, 17 and 5) across four innings in the two practice matches of India A against England Lions ahead of the high-profile series.
Given his recent outings in the Old Blighty and what happened off the field before that, focus was on the opener when England captain Ben Stokes invited India to bat. Facing pacer Chris Woakes in the first over, Jaiswal made a cautious start and opened his account with a four off the last delivery of the over — a thickish outside edge that went in the gap between fourth slip and backward point.
The tentative start turned ugly when Woakes hit him on the midriff off the second ball of the third over. Seemingly not bogged down by the initial struggles, the batter sent the red cherry past mid-off for his first confident boundary. The shot did wonders for Jaiswal as he slammed two fours of Brydon Carse's over to get into his groove.
With his opening partner KL Rahul also joining the party a few overs later, the duo gave the team a solid start as they pushed the hosts on the backfoot. The openers matched each other stroke for stroke as India put on 68 runs on the scoreboard in 20 overs with Jaiswal and Rahul unbeaten on 31 and 34 runs respectively. The run-rate might have been below four but what mattered then was the wicket column still read 'zero'. The visitors then lost two quick wickets in six balls between 25 and 26 overs with Rahul departing first followed by debutant B Sai Sudharsan for a nought as India were reduced to 92/2 at lunch.
The twin dismissals on the stroke of lunch meant India were forced to share the opening session with their opponents. With the team losing their grip on the match, the onus was on Jaiswal, who was batting on 42 then, to rebuild the innings with his skipper. They did exactly the same by adding 129 runs for third wicket playing 162 legal deliveries over the course of their crucial partnership.
But the runs and the partnership came at a cost as Jaiswal started struggling with his right hand grip as he entered the eighties. The cramp apparently was painful as the physio had to rush in and apply an ice-pack on Jaiswal's forearm during a Shoaib Bashir over, 48th of the innings.
Despite struggling with his grip and feeling immense pain with each shot he played, the opener decided to take on Carse in the next over. He first played a gorgeous cut through point to enter the nineties but the pain seemed to be unbearable and he had to be attended by the physio again. Almost forgetting the agony, Jaiswal, a few balls later, hit the South African-born pacer for two consecutive fours to reach 99. With his teammates getting ready to celebrate the moment on the sidelines, Jaiswal tapped the next ball, last of the over, for a single to complete his century.
The England skipper cleaned him up with a ripper a couple of overs later but by then Jaiswal had done enough to guide the team to safety. Even as Jaiswal departed, captain Gill ensured India did not squander the advantage on Day 1 as he scored a fluent century (127) to add to the woes of England. Vice-captain Pant remained unbeaten at 65 runs.
