Birmingham [UK], July 3 : Following a dominant first session by India on the second day of the Birmingham Test, former England pacer Stuart Broad lamented how the surface failed to help England bowlers and lauded the visitors for their "beautiful" batting.
A 203-run stand between skipper Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja, the latter missing out on a fifth Test ton, put England on the backfoot as India crossed the 400-run mark and went beyond it at first session end.
Speaking on air as quoted by Sky Sports, Broad said that England must have thought of getting two wickets in the first hour and getting to bat by lunch.
"But the surface did not help, and India batted beautifully, latching onto anything loose."
"The only threat came when England went shorter later on, and the ball came up at different paces. India looked so comfortable, and Gill is moving beautifully," he concluded.
Speaking on pacer Josh Tongue, who ended the frustrating Gill-Jadeja stand with a stunning short ball, Broad said that he looked "fresher" than other bowlers and "hit the pitch hard".
"I am sure we will see a lot more short stuff after lunch. Tongue has pace in him, he is a strong guy, an athlete bowler and was relatively rested up after only bowling 13 overs on day one. I know Stokes wants bowlers who can bowl short, as you need that on flat pitches such as this," he concluded.
At the end of a largely India-dominant session, India was 419/6, with Gill (168*) joined by Washington Sundar (1*).
India started the first session at 310/5, with Gill (114*) and Jadeja (41*) unbeaten.
On the very first ball of the inning, Gill collected an easy single to bring up a century stand in 143 balls.
There was no changing this duo's positive intent and searching for runs, as Jadeja got two boundaries against Chris Woakes in the 87th over.
With a single off Woakes' delivery, Jadeja completed his 23rd half-century in Test and seventh against England. It came in 80 balls, with six fours. He continued his attacking game, cutting and punching against skipper Ben Stokes' pace.
India reached the 350-run mark after a single in 94.5 overs.
In the 96th over, it was Gill's time to attack, slicing and driving Brydon Carse as the runs continued to leak, piling up England's worries.
The 150-run stand came up between Jadeja and Gill before the drinks as India continued to strangulate English bowlers.
Gill continued to produce some exquisite shots, reaching his first-ever 150 in Tests in 263 balls, with 17 fours. It was the second 150-plus score by an Indian captain in England after Mohammad Azharuddin's 179 at Old Trafford in 1990.
As the innings crossed 100 overs and India marched towards the 400-run mark, a highlight was a smooth reverse sweep played by the Indian skipper against Shoaib Bashir through the vacant backwards point region in the 103rd over.
In the 106th over by Bashir, Jadeja's six on the first ball helped India reach the 400-run mark, while the one on the last ball by the left-hander again helped Gill and him complete a double century partnership.
England's toil and perseverance finally bore fruit, as a short-ball from Josh Tongue rattled Jadeja, who landed a catch to Jamie Smith, going back for 89 in 137 balls, with 10 fours and a six. India was 414/6 in 107.3 overs.
Washington Sundar joined Gill to end the session without any further loss of wickets.
At the end of the final session yesterday, India was 310/5, with Gill (114*) and Jadeja (41*).
On day one, after losing KL Rahul (2), an 80-run partnership between Jaiswal (87 in 107 balls, with 13 fours) and Karun Nair (31 in 50 balls, with five fours) put India in a good spot at the end of session one.
After Jaiswal and Gill stitched a 66-run stand, India lost Rishabh Pant (25 in 42 balls, with a four and a six) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1) early. However, Gill (114* in 216 balls, with 12 fours) and Ravindra Jadeja (41* in 67 balls, with five fours) put on an unbeaten 99-run stand to take India to 310/5 at the day's end.
Brief Scores: India: 419/6 (Shubman Gill 168*, Washington Sundar 1*, Chris Woakes 2/81) vs England.
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