It made for a painstaking day in the field for England’s bowlers, who must have rued Stokes’ decision to bowl first on an unusually hot day in Leeds
Matt Roller20-Jun-2025
Shubman Gill hugs Rishabh Pant after getting to a century•AFP/Getty Images
Stumps The two faces of India’s new generation of Test batters traded sparkling centuries to dominate England on the opening day at Headingley. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill cruised to hundreds as opener and No. 4 respectively, shrugging off the absence of two modern greats whose retirements have vacated those roles: no Rohit Sharma, no Virat Kohli, no problem.Jaiswal plundered 712 runs in India’s home series against England 18 months ago; here, he provided further evidence of his adaptability. His century was a masterclass in off-side strokeplay: each of his 17 boundaries, including a vicious cut for six over cover, came on the off side, and he took only 48 balls to move from 50 to 100.But Gill’s innings, his first as captain, was even better. He embodied the tempo that he wants from his side, charging to his fastest half-century (off 56 balls) without offering a chance before cruising serenely to three figures. After lashing a cover drive for four to reach his sixth Test hundred, he bowed to a standing ovation from his team-mates on the dressing-room balcony.Related
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Gill said on the eve of the series that he would look to lead through his actions and “dominate” with the bat, and backed up his words with an innings that oozed authority. Having never previously made an impact in Tests outside Asia, he looked completely at home as he seized his chance to prove he is not only the future of India’s batting line-up, but the present too.It made for a long, painstaking day in the field for England’s bowlers, who must have rued Ben Stokes’ decision to bowl first on winning the toss on an unusually hot day in Leeds. Stokes himself was the pick of the attack, strangling the debutant B Sai Sudharsan down the leg side on the stroke of lunch and knocking back Jaiswal’s off stump straight after tea.Stokes’ call was informed by the sense that there would be life in the pitch in the first session, but Jaiswal and KL Rahul did not entertain that notion. England’s seamers bowled reasonably full and attacked the off-stump channel but without success, their desperation summed up by a hugely optimistic lbw review when Josh Tongue hit Jaiswal on the pad from around the wicket.Yashasvi Jaiswal brings up his fifth Test hundred•Getty Images
Jaiswal occasionally played and missed, and was struck on the ribcage by a lifter from Brydon Carse, but Rahul looked totally unflustered as he punished width and half-volleys. It came as a shock when he finally offered a chance off a Carse outswinger, his thick outside edge flying straight to Joe Root at slip.Carse’s follow-up ball to Sai Sudharsan, India’s new No. 3, was a snorter which rapped him on the back thigh, and he soon fell into England’s trap. Stokes bowled the final over of the morning session with a leg slip and a leg gully, appealing unsuccessfully for a leg-side strangle with his third delivery; Sai Sudharsan duly obliged one ball later, feathering through to Jamie Smith.Gill started jumpily after lunch, scampering through for a tight single off his second ball and offering a run-out chance off his sixth. He worked Carse to the right of Ollie Pope at short midwicket, whose pick-up-and-throw would have found Gill short of his ground with a direct hit; instead, it ran away to the boundary for overthrows.It proved to be the only real chance of the middle session, though Carse might well have had Jaiswal lbw on review for 45 had he not overstepped. After an itchy start, Gill settled down and looked utterly unflappable for the rest of his innings: he made Chris Woakes look utterly innocuous after lunch, then reached a rapid half-century with a pull off Tongue.Ben Stokes has a few words for Rishabh Pant•Getty Images
Jaiswal battled cramp as he put his foot on the accelerator, marking Shoaib Bashir’s introduction to the attack by slicing his first ball away behind point and later dumping him back over his head for four. As he grew tired, he began to stand and deliver: he reached his hundred by belting Carse for consecutive fours, then snuck through for a single and raised his arms aloft.His innings ended soon after tea, as Stokes angled the ball away off the seam and pegged back the top of his off stump. But the respite was short-lived: Rishabh Pant, playing against England in Tests for the first time in three years, charged at his second ball and belted it over Stokes’ head for four. England’s captain could only laugh.Pant and Gill reined themselves in, allowing Bashir to settle into an economical, if largely unthreatening, spell of 21 unchanged overs from the Football Stand End. But Pant was never likely to wait for long, and started to take on the deep fielders: he nearly miscued a catch to Crawley at short midwicket, but comfortably cleared long-on with a towering straight six.Gill upped the tempo further after his rasping drive off Tongue to reach his century, short-arm pulling six over long leg. And England’s hopes that the second new ball would provide a breakthrough were quickly quashed as Pant toe-ended a slog-sweep through mid-on, then hoicked Woakes over midwicket for six in the final over of the day.