IND vs. ENG Test Series-2025: The England tour has started poorly for Team India under the captaincy of Shubman Gill. In the first Test match of the five-match series, England defeated Team India by a huge margin of 5 wickets. On the last day of the Leeds Test, the English team easily chased the score of 350. After which many shortcomings of Team India were also exposed.
The Indian team scored 471 runs in the first innings of the first Test and 364 runs in the second innings. Still Team India lost the match. The biggest reason behind this was its weak bowling and poor fielding.
Now the second match of the series between the two teams is going to be held at the historic ground Edgbaston in Birmingham. This match will be played from July 2. This Test match will be very important for Team India as India is trailing 0-1 and need a win to level off the series.
Positive aspects of Team India in the first Test
In the first Test match against England, some positive aspects came to the fore in the form of Team India's batting. Especially wicketkeeper and vice-captain Rishabh Pant did wonders. Pant played a century innings. He crossed the 100-run mark in both the innings for India. Pant scored 134 runs in the first innings and 118 runs in the second innings. With this, he became the batsman to score a century in both innings of a Test match at Leeds ground.
KL Rahul, Jaiswal, Gill also hit centuries
Apart from Rishabh Pant, three other Indian batsmen scored a century in the first Test match against England. They are captain Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul. Shubman Gill scored 147 runs in the first innings. Yashasvi Jaiswal played a century of 101 runs as an opener. In the second innings, KL Rahul played an important role in helping Team India reach a big score along with Rishabh Pant. KL Rahul scored 137 runs.
Bowling and fielding will have to be improved
During the Birmingham Test, Team India would like to continue this form in batting. But the real problem for the team is bowling and poor fielding. The reason for the defeat in the first Test match was Team India's weak bowling and poor fielding. Bumrah took five wickets in the first innings. But he did not get support from any other bowler from the team.
Doubt over Bumrah's playing
There is doubt over the team's veteran bowler Jasprit Bumrah's playing in the Birmingham Test. According to media reports, he may miss the second Test match. However, no official announcement has been made by the BCCI and the team management yet.
Coach Gautam Gambhir had told after the first Test that Jasprit will play three matches in the series against England. He cited Bumrah's workload for this. It is believed that if he is not a part of the playing eleven in the second Test, then Arshdeep Singh can be given a chance in his place.
If the team wins the second match, the morale of the young team will get a boost. But Team India's record on the Birmingham ground is intimidating. This record of Team India is going to create problems for captain Shubman Gill.
Team India's record in Birmingham
Team India has played a total of 8 Test matches so far at the ground of Birmingham, Edgbaston. During this, Team India has lost 7 matches. While one match was a draw. This record is scary for captain Shubman Gill. Team India played the last match on this ground in 2022. During this, Team India was captained by Jasprit Bumrah. In the match, Team India was defeated by the English team by 7 wickets.
Prakash Kumar Pandey