India Scripts Maiden Edgbaston Triumph in Gill and Deep’s Dominant Showing

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The second test match in India’s 2025 tour of England will be remembered as a classic. For Captain Gill’s 430 runs, Smith and Brook’s 303-run blistering stand in an otherwise bizarre England first innings scorecard, and Akash Deep’s 10-wicket haul on a mostly placid surface.

England were the heavy favorites heading into the second test match, given the 1-0 scorecard and India’s spearhead Jasprit Bumrah’s workload management. Shubman Gill, just 25 years old, took on the reins of India captain prior to the first test. Heavy criticism and pressure epitomize the role, especially with the retirements of legendary batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli preceding the England tour. The number four slot that Kohli made his own now shifts to Gill, with many comparing the two in their early careers and similar leadership roles at a young age.

England chose to bowl on another batter-friendly pitch after a thrilling last-day chase in the first test. This same decision turned sour quickly, as two days later, India were finally bowled out for 587. All of the lights were particularly on the captain, who scored a chanceless and record-breaking 269 (ironically, the cap number of his predecessor Virat Kohli).

England, perhaps exhausted from the high physical and mental demands of fielding for consecutive days, found themselves in a precarious spot, situated at 84/5 at one stage. Fortunately, a breathtaking 303-run partnership between centurions Harry Brook and Jamie Smith brought England to a much more comfortable position when the sixth wicket ultimately fell at a score of 387. Brilliant bowling from Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj brought about a collapse of 20/5, which saw England into a large deficit of 180 runs with the first innings out of the way.

India started positively in their second innings, with cameos from Jaiswal and Nair supporting 50s from Rahul, Pant, and Jadeja. Shubman Gill found himself taking off his helmet again, raising his bat for his hundred, and soon to be followed 150. A relatively slower and more methodical innings from Jadeja brought India to a comfortable lead of 607 when Gill put England in to bat again.

England’s fourth innings started rather similarly to their first, with their sixth wicket stand recovering them somewhat from 83/5. However, regular wickets found England falling to the inevitable, as India won with their largest margin of victory outside of India in terms of runs (336). Ten wickets in the match for Deep highlighted very disciplined bowling from the Indians in their brilliant win.

With the series evenly poised at 1-1, both teams will find more suitable bowling conditions in the Lord’s Test, which begins on the 10th of July. It’s anyone’s series now.