<p>Leeds: The reason why Test cricket is called the ultimate challenge amongst all formats the sport has to offer is because it demands immense concentration and application for long periods. A lapse, even for a brief moment or a session, can undo all the hard work. India learnt it the brutal way on the second day of the opening Test against England here on Saturday.</p><p>Having completely dominated the proceedings on the opening day at Headingley—where young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a superb century and skipper Shubman Gill was unbeaten on a career-defining 127 with his deputy Rishabh Pant (65 not out) for company—a transitioning India looked primed to tighten the screw on a wayward England.</p><p>The way both Gill and Pant went about their business on the second morning, it seemed like India, resuming on 359/3, were determined to keep England out on the park for as long as they could. Gill and Pant wanted to score big and take India close to 600, which would have put them in a great position to push for a win.</p><p>Gill, just like Friday, continued to bat like a dream. The second new ball was relatively fresh, the cloud cover hovering over the ground made the conditions cooler, and England pacers—who were all over the place on the opening day—were a lot more disciplined with their lines and lengths. Gill, though, never looked flustered, tackling all of it comfortably with his lazy elegance.</p>.India vs England | 'From stupid to superb': Rishabh Pant wins over Gavaskar after splendid century.<p>The worry was whether Pant would commit any sort of harakiri with his high-risk, high-reward batting. The wicketkeeper didn’t, wisely choosing the moments to throw the kitchen sink and then just defend deep — an asset of his game that is not appreciated enough. Together, both Pant and Gill motored on smoothly and even negotiated the tricky opening hour without any damage.</p><p>Pant then moved into his 90s, which brought the first moment of anxiety for the Indians. The left-hander had been dismissed seven times within sight of a century, and England skipper Ben Stokes intensified the pressure by bringing most of the fielders in and forcing him to take risks. That, though, is child’s play for Pant, and he notched up his seventh Test century with a one-handed six off Shoaib Bashir.</p><p>From that high is when India’s slide began and England came roaring back into the contest. First, Gill perished for a well-crafted 147 in the 102nd over and then, six overs later, Pant joined him in the dressing room, out for a superb 134. India lost seven wickets for 41 runs since Gill’s dismissal and were shot out for a below-par 471 in 113 overs a little after lunch — the lowest all-out score in the history of Test cricket with three batters having scored a century.</p><p>They then blundered on the field too, dropping two catches — both turning out to be expensive. Opener Ben Duckett, let off on 6 by Ravindra Jadeja, scored a busy 62, while one-drop Ollie Pope, grassed by Jaiswal on 60, went on to hammer a cracking 100 not out as England made erring India pay dearly, reaching 209/3 at stumps.</p><p>Jasprit Bumrah, who has the magical power to create something in every spell he bowls, ploughed a lone furrow with 3/48. He should have had more on the wickets column if not for shoddy fielding from his colleagues and a no-ball in the last over of the day that gave Harry Brook a lifeline.</p><p>Mohammed Siraj was decent in his second and third spells, but with Prasidh Krishna struggling for rhythm and England employing their patent high-octane ‘Bazball’, Gill struggled for answers. If India desire to hit back on the Moving Day, then the rest of the pack really need to support Bumrah strongly and catch better.</p>.<p><strong>SCOREBOARD</strong></p><p><strong>INDIA (I Innings, O/n: 359/3):</strong></p><p>Jaiswal b Stokes 101</p><p>(159b, 16x4, 1x6)</p><p>Rahul c Root b Carse 42</p><p>(78b, 8x4)</p><p>Sudharsan c Smith b Stokes 0</p><p>(4b)</p><p>Gill c Tongue b Bashir 147</p><p>(227b, 19x4, 1x6)</p><p>Pant lbw Tongue 134</p><p>(178b, 12x4, 6x6)</p><p>Nair c Pope b Stokes 0</p><p>(4b)</p><p>Jadeja b Tongue 11</p><p>(15b, 2x4)</p><p>Thakur c Smith b Stokes 1</p><p>(8b)</p><p>Bumrah c Brook b Tongue 0</p><p>(5b)</p><p>Siraj (not out) 3<br>(7b)</p><p>Prasidh b Tongue 1</p><p>(3b) </p><p>Extras (B-1, LB-14, W-2, NB-9, Pen-5) 31</p><p>TOTAL (all out, 113 overs) 471</p><p>Fall of wickets: 1-91 (Rahul), 2-92 (Sudharsan), 3-221 (Jaiswal), 4-430 (Gill), 5-447 (Nair), 6-453 (Pant), 7-454 (Shardul), 8-458 (Bumrah), 9-469 (Jadeja).</p><p>Bowling: Woakes 24-4-103-0, Carse 22-5-96-1 (w-1, nb-3), Tongue 20-0-86-4 (nb-1), Stokes 20-2–66-4 (w-1, nb-1), Bashir 27-6-100-1.</p><p><strong>ENGLAND (I Innings):</strong> </p><p>Crawley c Nair b Bumrah 4</p><p>(6b, 1x4)</p><p>Duckett b Bumrah 62 </p><p>(94b, 9x4)</p><p>Pope (batting) 100</p><p>(131b, 13x4)</p><p>Root c Nair b Bumrah 28</p><p>(58b, 2x4)</p><p>Brook (batting) 0</p><p>(12b)</p><p>Extras (LB-7, W-1, NB-7) 2</p><p>TOTAL (for 3 wkts, 49 overs) 209</p><p>Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Crawley), 2-126 (Duckett), 3-206 (Root).</p><p>Bowling: Bumrah 13-2-48-3 (nb-4), Siraj 14-0-50-0 (nb-1), Prasidh 10-0-56-0, Jadeja 9-2-25-0, Thakur 3-0-23-0.</p>
<p>Leeds: The reason why Test cricket is called the ultimate challenge amongst all formats the sport has to offer is because it demands immense concentration and application for long periods. A lapse, even for a brief moment or a session, can undo all the hard work. India learnt it the brutal way on the second day of the opening Test against England here on Saturday.</p><p>Having completely dominated the proceedings on the opening day at Headingley—where young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a superb century and skipper Shubman Gill was unbeaten on a career-defining 127 with his deputy Rishabh Pant (65 not out) for company—a transitioning India looked primed to tighten the screw on a wayward England.</p><p>The way both Gill and Pant went about their business on the second morning, it seemed like India, resuming on 359/3, were determined to keep England out on the park for as long as they could. Gill and Pant wanted to score big and take India close to 600, which would have put them in a great position to push for a win.</p><p>Gill, just like Friday, continued to bat like a dream. The second new ball was relatively fresh, the cloud cover hovering over the ground made the conditions cooler, and England pacers—who were all over the place on the opening day—were a lot more disciplined with their lines and lengths. Gill, though, never looked flustered, tackling all of it comfortably with his lazy elegance.</p>.India vs England | 'From stupid to superb': Rishabh Pant wins over Gavaskar after splendid century.<p>The worry was whether Pant would commit any sort of harakiri with his high-risk, high-reward batting. The wicketkeeper didn’t, wisely choosing the moments to throw the kitchen sink and then just defend deep — an asset of his game that is not appreciated enough. Together, both Pant and Gill motored on smoothly and even negotiated the tricky opening hour without any damage.</p><p>Pant then moved into his 90s, which brought the first moment of anxiety for the Indians. The left-hander had been dismissed seven times within sight of a century, and England skipper Ben Stokes intensified the pressure by bringing most of the fielders in and forcing him to take risks. That, though, is child’s play for Pant, and he notched up his seventh Test century with a one-handed six off Shoaib Bashir.</p><p>From that high is when India’s slide began and England came roaring back into the contest. First, Gill perished for a well-crafted 147 in the 102nd over and then, six overs later, Pant joined him in the dressing room, out for a superb 134. India lost seven wickets for 41 runs since Gill’s dismissal and were shot out for a below-par 471 in 113 overs a little after lunch — the lowest all-out score in the history of Test cricket with three batters having scored a century.</p><p>They then blundered on the field too, dropping two catches — both turning out to be expensive. Opener Ben Duckett, let off on 6 by Ravindra Jadeja, scored a busy 62, while one-drop Ollie Pope, grassed by Jaiswal on 60, went on to hammer a cracking 100 not out as England made erring India pay dearly, reaching 209/3 at stumps.</p><p>Jasprit Bumrah, who has the magical power to create something in every spell he bowls, ploughed a lone furrow with 3/48. He should have had more on the wickets column if not for shoddy fielding from his colleagues and a no-ball in the last over of the day that gave Harry Brook a lifeline.</p><p>Mohammed Siraj was decent in his second and third spells, but with Prasidh Krishna struggling for rhythm and England employing their patent high-octane ‘Bazball’, Gill struggled for answers. If India desire to hit back on the Moving Day, then the rest of the pack really need to support Bumrah strongly and catch better.</p>.<p><strong>SCOREBOARD</strong></p><p><strong>INDIA (I Innings, O/n: 359/3):</strong></p><p>Jaiswal b Stokes 101</p><p>(159b, 16x4, 1x6)</p><p>Rahul c Root b Carse 42</p><p>(78b, 8x4)</p><p>Sudharsan c Smith b Stokes 0</p><p>(4b)</p><p>Gill c Tongue b Bashir 147</p><p>(227b, 19x4, 1x6)</p><p>Pant lbw Tongue 134</p><p>(178b, 12x4, 6x6)</p><p>Nair c Pope b Stokes 0</p><p>(4b)</p><p>Jadeja b Tongue 11</p><p>(15b, 2x4)</p><p>Thakur c Smith b Stokes 1</p><p>(8b)</p><p>Bumrah c Brook b Tongue 0</p><p>(5b)</p><p>Siraj (not out) 3<br>(7b)</p><p>Prasidh b Tongue 1</p><p>(3b) </p><p>Extras (B-1, LB-14, W-2, NB-9, Pen-5) 31</p><p>TOTAL (all out, 113 overs) 471</p><p>Fall of wickets: 1-91 (Rahul), 2-92 (Sudharsan), 3-221 (Jaiswal), 4-430 (Gill), 5-447 (Nair), 6-453 (Pant), 7-454 (Shardul), 8-458 (Bumrah), 9-469 (Jadeja).</p><p>Bowling: Woakes 24-4-103-0, Carse 22-5-96-1 (w-1, nb-3), Tongue 20-0-86-4 (nb-1), Stokes 20-2–66-4 (w-1, nb-1), Bashir 27-6-100-1.</p><p><strong>ENGLAND (I Innings):</strong> </p><p>Crawley c Nair b Bumrah 4</p><p>(6b, 1x4)</p><p>Duckett b Bumrah 62 </p><p>(94b, 9x4)</p><p>Pope (batting) 100</p><p>(131b, 13x4)</p><p>Root c Nair b Bumrah 28</p><p>(58b, 2x4)</p><p>Brook (batting) 0</p><p>(12b)</p><p>Extras (LB-7, W-1, NB-7) 2</p><p>TOTAL (for 3 wkts, 49 overs) 209</p><p>Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Crawley), 2-126 (Duckett), 3-206 (Root).</p><p>Bowling: Bumrah 13-2-48-3 (nb-4), Siraj 14-0-50-0 (nb-1), Prasidh 10-0-56-0, Jadeja 9-2-25-0, Thakur 3-0-23-0.</p>