On Sunday, India pulled off a historic result after they beat England by a mammoth 336 runs. The pitch was tailor made for England’s Bazball approach however, thanks to Shubman Gill’s 269 in the first innings and 161 in the second India managed to pile on mammoth totals in both the innings and have been able to suppress the bazball approach and also challenged England’s winning mantra of chasing whatever that is put infront of them in the final innings.
“India will gain a lot of confidence from this. It shows they’re not afraid of England’s Bazball approach. There’s a great deal of excitement and belief in the team. Shubman Gill has shown exceptional leadership; also, he has batted really well,” Monty Panesar told IANS. “This is India’s first-ever Test win at Edgbaston — a truly historic moment. The team will head into the Lord’s Test with confidence, knowing they can beat England,” he said.
The pitch at Edgbaston was quite flat, and English bowlers struggled to create breakthroughs. Indian seamers, on the other hand, Akash Deep, who came in place of Jasprit Bumrah, was quite magnificent and picked up 10 wickets in the game. “Taking 20 wickets in a Test match is a big achievement for India. They’ve found a solid bowling combination, and with Jasprit Bumrah likely to return for the next match, the bowling attack will only get stronger. Akash Deep has an excellent average with the new ball. He’s a genuine new-ball bowler, and he bowled really well — a remarkable comeback for him,” Panesar added.
India had remained winless at the venue across eight matches since 1967. The Kensington Oval in Barbados is the only venue where India have played more Tests without a win, losing seven matches besides two draws at the venue. A win in Birmingham also extends India’s world record for Test victories at most venues on a day where Australia could inch closer to them with a triumph over West Indies in Grenada. Having played at 85 different Test venues since their first official game in 1932, India have won at least one Test at 60 different grounds, ranking the best among all Test-playing nations. Australia stand second with Test wins at 57 venues, with England ranking third, winning at 55 Test grounds.
