England staged a valiant fightback on the second day of the first Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Headingley with pacer Josh Tongue spearheading the effort by taking four wickets to send India packing for 471.
The tourists, who had at one stage seemed poised for a colossal total of between 500 and 600, were served with a disastrous collapse in batting with their last seven wickets falling for only 41 runs.
With India sailing along at 430/3 courtesy of match-winning hundreds from captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Rishabh Pant, England's bowlers made a stunning comeback. Tongue played a key role in the comeback, taking 4 wickets for 86.
Even as three of India's top five had reached three figures, they were left somewhat disappointed at not fully capitalizing on their dominant position. The responsibility will now lie with their bowling attack spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah to profit from what seem to be beneficial conditions for pace and swing.
In addition to India's optimism will be the predicted overcast conditions, with light showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. The hover cover was rolled out once India's innings had concluded, and while players temporarily took to the field for England's innings, a growing drizzle prompted a delayed start.
Earlier in the day, India resumed on 395/3 and continued to dominate in the first half of the morning session. Gill reached his career-best score of 147, while Pant unleashed an exhilarating knock of 134. Their partnership flourished until the drinks break, during which India added 53 runs without loss. Pant also reached a personal milestone, surpassing M.S. Dhoni’s record for the most Test centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper by notching up his seventh.
Pant's hundred — the third in England — was a dazzling blend of flair and control. He transitioned to the 90s with a scooped four off Shoaib Bashir, before unleashing a powerful six to compile his ton in 146 balls. In keeping with tradition, he marked the occasion with a somersault, a tribute to his days as a gymnast.
The Gill-Pant stand rose to 209 runs before Bashir gave the much-needed breakthrough, with Gill holing out at deep square leg for a classy 147. Pant, on the other hand, went on with his fun-filled show with boundaries off Ben Stokes and another slog-swept six off Bashir. But Karun Nair's highly anticipated comeback to Test cricket was cut short, as he fell for a duck after Ollie Pope's sharp catch at cover.
With the ball beginning to reverse, Pant was struggling against Josh Tongue's inswingers and was eventually caught lbw by a sharp delivery in from round the wicket. Shardul Thakur then departed shortly afterwards, edging Stokes to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith just before lunch.
After lunch, Tongue dispatched the tail in rapid fashion. He coaxed Bumrah into a loose drive, one that was caught at second slip, then cramped Jadeja for space, forcing the batsman to drag the ball onto his stumps. He finished off the innings by removing Prasidh Krishna, ending India's innings with a flourish just 23 minutes after the commencement of the second session.
Brief Scores:
India 471 all out in 113 overs
(Shubman Gill 147, Rishabh Pant 134; Ben Stokes 4-66, Josh Tongue 4-86)
vs England
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