Courtesy: BCCI
On Friday, June 20, the first day of the first Test in the five-match Test series belonged to India, scoring 359/3 in 85 overs against England at the close of play at Headingley in Leeds. Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Shubman Gill were the stars of the show with the bat for India, scoring their first Test hundreds on English soil, to put their team in a commanding position in the first innings.
For the unversed, after being put into bat first by Ben Stokes, the captain of England, in overcast conditions, Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul mixed caution with aggression against the moving ball in the first session on day one. They stitched together a 91-run stand for the first wicket before KL Rahul, who was impressive on the drive, played one too many on the bowling of Byrdon Carse, edging it to Joe Root at first slip after scoring 42 off 78 with eight fours.
It signalled the arrival of debutant Sai Sudharsan at the crease as the new number three for Team India, but he was strangled down the leg side by Ben Stokes without troubling the scorers. The second session of play on day one of the first Test belonged firmly to the Indian cricket team with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill batting right throughout, scoring their hundred and fifty respectively, to put the side in a strong position.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hadn’t put a foot wrong in his innings despite struggling with cramps in his hands while nearing his hundred, was cleaned up by a beautiful outswinger from Ben Stokes, but not before he scored 101 runs in 159 balls with 16 fours and one maximum, building a 129-run stand for the second wicket. Rishabh Pant joined Shubman Gill in the middle, pushing the innings forward alongside his captain, mixing attack strokes with defence from time to time.
Gill ended up completing his hundred in 144 balls, hitting Josh Tongue for a crisp drive on the off side before celebrating the moment in style just like the Indian opener earlier in the day. Shortly after, Pant went past his fifty with an attempted slog sweep against Chris Woakes, who had just started his new spell with the second new ball, showing once again that the situation of the match didn’t matter much to him in regards to taking the aggressive shot option.
The first day’s play at Headingley in Leeds ended with Shubman Gill (127* off 175) and Rishabh Pant (65* off 102), sharing an unbeaten 138-run stand for the fourth wicket.
