India's Test captain Shubman Gill.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Birmingham: Although captain Shubman Gill was deservedly the Player of the Match in the second Test for his once-in-a-lifetime performance that could stand the test of time, the stars of the emphatic 336-run win over England were fast bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep.
The duo bowled their hearts out on a lifeless Edgbaston pitch to bag 17 of the 20 England wickets to fall, ensuring the absence of pace ace Jasprit Bumrah — rested as part of workload management — was never felt. While Siraj got just reward for the complete zeal he plays with in every game with a six-wicket haul in the first innings, Akash, used mostly as a back-up when frontline options are unavailable, showed he’s no less talented than the others with a six-for in the second innings that saw him bag his maiden five-wicket and 10-wicket hauls in a Test.
A delighted Gill applauded Akash and Siraj, saying he has no words to describe their heroic show. “They were absolutely good bowlers. Both of them, I think, took close to 16-17 (17 actually) wickets in the Test match. And that itself is a big, big achievement. Coming into this Test match, especially, you know, with Jasprit (Bumrah) bhai, there were a lot of questions about if we were able to take those 20 wickets. And the way these two guys delivered was just outstanding. I have no words to describe them,” said Gill at the post-match press conference on Sunday before confirming that Bumrah will play the third Test starting at Lord’s on July 10.
Gill’s team on Sunday created history by becoming the first Indian side to win a Test at Edgbaston in nine attempts (7 losses and 1 draw). Like he said at the pre-match press conference, Gill reiterated that this young transitional side has the potential to script a fourth series win on English soil and the first one since 2007.
“I even said before the Test match that I don't really believe in stats or history. Like I said, over the last 50-60 years, we played seven (eight actually) matches over different courses, different teams coming here. I believe this is the best Indian team to be able to come here in England and we have the capability to beat them, to win the series from here. And we have got the right momentum with us. If we keep making the right decisions and we keep grinding and we keep fighting, I think it would be one of the series to remember,” said the 25-year-old, India’s fourth youngest Test captain, with confidence writ large on his face.
A downcast England skipper Ben Stokes admitted his team was outplayed but believed they can turn it around in London. “The task today was batting out the 80 overs. 600 (608 actually) was just a mammoth total to try and chase down. Psychologically, whether that decision was decided at 350 and they thought they had to get more and more and more, I don’t know, but we weren’t able to deliver our skills when we needed to with our skills in the fourth innings under pressure. That can happen. We are obviously disappointed. We have a few days to turn it around at Lord’s.”
England add Atkinson
England on Sunday added fast bowler Gus Atkinson to the squad for the third Test starting at Lord’s on Thursday, where they are hoping to field Jofra Archer who joined the squad before the second game.
Squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.