India registered a mammoth 336-run win in the second Test after dismissing England for 271 in their second innings on the fifth and final day at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Sunday (July 6). This is India’s biggest away Test win in terms of runs.
Shubman Gill’s young India broke the 58-year-old ‘Edgbaston Jinx’, to level the five-Test series 1-1. This is India’s first win at Edgbaston in nine Tests since 1967.
Shubman, Akash shine
The 28-year-old Akash Deep took a match haul of 10 wickets, including his maiden five-for (6/99) in England’s second innings, with the hosts getting all out for 271 in pursuit of an improbable 608.
Also read: Gill breaks Gavaskar’s record
If Gill, with his magnificent batting (269 and 161), set it up, Akash deserves equal credit for his lion-hearted effort on a track that was primarily a bowler’s graveyard.
The rain delayed the start of the day by an hour and 40 minutes, reducing the day’s quota of overs to 80 with England resuming their second innings at 72 for three chasing a near-impossible 608.
If Mohammed Siraj (7 wickets and catches) bowled like the leader of the attack in the first innings, Akash built on his first innings gains to strike twice with the new ball early on day five.
Bumrah not missed
Akash’s sharp incutters from length that fooled Joe Root, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook didn’t let his skipper miss the peerless Jasprit Bumrah.
For England, Jamie Smith (88) fought a lonely battle before being dismissed by a slow bouncer from Akash, giving the medium pacer his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
Fittingly, Akash got the final wicket of the game to complete a match haul of 10/187. The other star performer, Gill, pouched the catch at cover, leading to an animated celebration of his first success as Test captain.
England also felt the pressure from the Indian spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, who got the ball to drift and straighten.
After losing the series opener at Leeds from an ‘unlosable’ position, Gill-led India made an admirable comeback at the back of the captain’s record-breaking 430 runs in the match and the showing of Akash and Siraj, who both got the new ball to talk on a flat surface.
In Bumrah’s absence, not much was expected from the Indian pace attack, but Siraj and Akash changed the perception with match-turning spells in either innings.
The Edgbaston authorities had slashed the ticket prices for the final from a minimum of GBP 90 to 25. For the first time in the game, the Indians outnumbered the England supporters and eventually got their money’s worth.
Bumrah will be back and Akash, who attacks the stumps from good length, would be looking forward to running in down the hill from the Pavilion End at the iconic Lord’s.
Sundar gets Stokes
Earlier, Akash struck twice to leave England on 153 for six at lunch.
Washington Sundar had Ben Stokes leg before wicket at the stroke of lunch to matters worse for the opposition.
On a typical English weather day when heavy cloud cover and subsequent rain made way for bright sunshine, the start was delayed by one hour and 40 minutes.
Prasidh Krishna opened the bowling alongside Akash Deep, who was the stand out bowler of the session. For the first time in the high-scoring game, the wicket appeared to have deteriorated a bit with Akash getting a prodigious amount of seam movement.
It was a tad surprising that Mohammed Siraj did not start alongside Akash.
Having said that, Akash needed seven balls to provide the breakthrough in the opening hour as Ollie Pope played one on to his stumps. In the following over from Akash, the dangerous Harry Brook was trapped in front with a delivery that hit the crack and seamed back in sharply.
Brook could not do much about that.
3rd Test at Lord’s from July 10
It can be assumed that the medium pacer has sealed his place for the Lord’s Test with a stellar use of the new ball at Edgbaston. Krishna from the other end could not strike but performed the holding role effectively.
Ravindra Jadeja was brought in after the first hour of and he got the ball to turn from the rough instantly, posing problems for Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith.
Unlike Headingley, Jadeja tried to take some pace off his deliveries and it did turn off the rough.
The England captain, however, was able to get some much-needed runs. He got four boundaries off Siraj including from a pull and extra cover drive off Siraj.
Realising that there was little point in just defending, Stokes decided to sweep Jadeja.
Going into day five, either an India win or a draw were the probable results with England effectively conceding that they were not going to go for the mammoth target despite only drawing one game in the last three years.
The third Test begins in London on July 10.
Biggest away wins for India (by runs)
336 vs England, Birmingham, 2025
318 vs West Indies, North Sound, 2016
304 vs Sri Lanka, Galle, 2017
295 vs Australia, Perth, 2024
279 vs England, Leeds, 1986
Best match figures for India in England
10/187 – Akash Deep, Birmingham, 2025
10/188 – Chetan Sharma, Birmingham, 1986
9/110 – Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Bridge, 2021
9/134 – Zaheer Khan, Trent Bridge, 2007
(With agency inputs)