IND vs ENG: Shastri lauds Gambhir for ‘bold play’ in Edgbaston as India break Birmingham jinx to level Test series
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "IND vs ENG: Shastri lauds Gambhir for ‘bold play’ in Edgbaston as India break Birmingham jinx to level Test series")
Shastri lauds Gambhir for ‘bold play’ in 2nd Test as India break Birmingham jinx Photograph: (Others)
Days after he tore apart Gambhir and the backroom staff’s call to rest Jasprit Bumrah for this game as part of his workload management, Shastri was quick to praise Gambhir for tactically pulling off a win at this venue.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has lauded current team boss Gautam Gambhir for bold play in the second Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Days after he tore apart Gambhir and the backroom staff’s call to rest Jasprit Bumrah for this game as part of his workload management, Shastri was quick to praise Gambhir for tactically pulling off a win at this venue. Team India had never won a Test at Edgbaston in the past eight outings, and without Bumrah, it looked improbable; however, Shubman Gill’s new-look unit did it, winning the second Test by 336 runs late on day five.
“You have the best fast bowler in the world, and you make him sit out after seven days of rest. It’s something very hard to believe,” Shastri criticised Gambhir’s call to rest Bumrah for the second Test. “If you look at the run India has had, this becomes a very, very important Test match.”
Also read | ‘We ran second for five days,’ McCullum on how England messed up toss in Edgbaston Test defeat
Meanwhile, Gill and seamer Akash Deep were the two protagonists for the visitors. While Gill broke multiple records in his marathon outings across both innings in this game, aggregating 430 runs – the second-most by any player in a single Test, Akash Deep returned with ten wickets at Edgbaston, including picking up six in the second innings.
Others too contributed, including Ravindra Jadeja with the bat, hitting fifties in both innings, while seamer Mohammed Siraj shut his doubters with a six-wicket haul in the first innings. Although Prasidh Krishna remained the weak link in this pace attack, picking just one in the game, Siraj and Akash Deep bagged 17 wickets between them in this Test alone.
Besides, what stood out for Team India were a few tactical decisions; it received some flak earlier, but was later acknowledged and labelled as bold, including Team India's call to delay declaration late on day four. That, however, was the turning point, as England failed to chase 608 despite their Bazball approach.
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Meanwhile, watching Gambhir sitting in the dressing room and smiling over Team India’s massive win, Shastri, sitting in the commentary box, said, “Don’t see that smile too often, but he deserves every bit of it. There is no better feeling for a coach than when you bounce back almost immediately to keep the series alive.”
With the five-match series now tied at 1-1, the action moves to Lord’s in London, which will host the third Test starting next Thursday (Jul 10).
