Picture Credit: X
After Team India’s dominant show with the bat, the English side made an impressive comeback in the first Test on day two at Headingley, Leeds. With centuries coming from the bats of Yashasvi Jaiswal (101), Shubman Gill (147) and Rishabh Pant (134), along with vital contribution from KL Rahul (42 off 78), India posted 471 runs on the board.
After Shubman Gill’s wicket, India fell like a pack of cards as England dismissed seven players of just giving 41 runs. After a brief delay, the Three Lions took the crease, which saw them lose Zak Crawley early at the score of 4. Ben Duckett then shared a 122-run stand with Ollie Pope with the latter scoring his ninth Test hundred. At the close of play on Day 2, England had posted 209/3, trailing India by 262 runs.
England and India wear black armbands as mark of respect for David ‘Syd’ Lawrence
Just before the start of play on day three, the players from both teams were seen lining up as a mark of respect for former England fast bowler, David Lawrence, who passed away on Saturday, June 21. Taking to X, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wrote, “Both teams are wearing black armbands to pay their respects to former England Cricketer, David 'Syd' Lawrence, who has sadly passed away.”
Notably, David Lawrence was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2024 and was struggling to cope with the same. Speaking of his playing days, he made his debut for England in 1988 and went upto play five Test matches and one ODI. His finest moment came in 1991, when he finished with the figures of 5/106 against West Indies at The Oval.
England vs India first Test Playing XI
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
