Friday became a day to remember for Indian cricket followers as the national team dominated England on the first day of the first Test at Headingley.
With a classy, unbeaten 127 of captain Shubman Gill, a fluent century by Yashasvi Jaiswal, and a calm knock by vice-captain Rishabh Pant, India finished the day in complete command at 359/3.
Yashasvi Jaiswal laid the early foundation with a breathtaking 101 off 159 balls. His knock was characterized by beautiful strokeplay, with sixteen boundaries and a six. After his dismissal, Gill took charge of the innings with an imposing captain's innings. His 175-ball innings was a masterclass of finesse and accuracy as he picked up sixteen fours and one six on his way to his unbeaten 127. Gill's batting also led India to their highest-ever first-day total in a Test match played in England, beating the 338/7 they scored at Edgbaston in 2022.
Pant provided solid support, staying not out on 65 from 102 balls. With two sixes and four fours, he seemed to be in complete control, forging a 138-run unbroken stand with Gill. In the course of the innings, Gill reached the 2,000-run mark in Test cricket, while Pant went past the 3,000-run mark.
Jaiswal's knock, which set the tone for India's domination, was halted post-Tea by England captain Ben Stokes, who ended the day with 2/43. The 359-run aggregate also recorded the top first-day score by a traveling team in England since South Africa managed 362/4 at The Oval in 2003.
Jaiswal's most recent century also saw him leave his mark in the record books. With 813 runs from only 10 Test innings against England, he now has an astonishing average of 90.33 — highest average by any batsman against England (min. 500 runs). He even surpassed the great Don Bradman, who had averaged 89.78 in 63 innings against England with 5,028 runs.
With Gill and Pant in good shape going into Day 2, India will look forward to consolidating their strong position. England, meanwhile, will be hoping for early dismissals to get back a bit of control in the game.
Earlier in the day, India made a good start with a 91-run partnership between Jaiswal and KL Rahul. The two were comfortable in the first session until Rahul was bowled just before lunch for 42, narrowly short of his half-century. India finished the session at 92/2.
The second session was completely dominated by the visitors, with Gill and Jaiswal contributing 123 runs between them off 154 balls without losing a single wicket, leaving England's bowlers scratching their heads.
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