Ind vs Eng 2nd test: Gill second successive ton as skipper takes India to 310 for 5
Birmingham, Jul 2 (PTI): Shubman Gill batted with plenty of patience and resolve to complete his second successive hundred but India squandered the early advantage against England to settle for 310 for five at stumps on a shared day one of the second Test here on Wednesday.
India adopted a measured approach with the bat after picking three all-rounders in the playing eleven at the cost of specialist bowling resources, raising plenty of questions.
Like Leeds, the Edgbaston surface is offering plenty of runs and with no Jasprit Bumrah in the attack, India would need to put up a total in excess of 500 to make a match of it.
Shortly before close of play, Gill (batting 114 off 216 ) got to his seventh Test hundred with successive sweep shots off Shoaib Bashir, his celebration indicating how much it meant to him as a new leader of the side. Ravindra Jadeja (41 batting off 67) was solid at the other end having forged an unbroken 99 run stand with his captain.
England were able to stem the flow of runs through the day with Gill and Co happy to bat time. The slower nature of the pitch here compared to Leeds may have been a factor behind that cautious approach.
Rishabh Pant (25 off 42) and batting all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy (1), who was picked ahead of Shardul Thakur, were the two wickets to fall in the final session.
Pant perished to a well thought plan by Ben Stokes, who kept a wide long-on instead of a deep midwicket. The southpaw took the bait and targeted the straight boundary but could not clear the ropes to give Shoaib Bashir his first wicket.
Reddy, on the other hand, cut a sorry figure after leaving a length ball from Chris Woakes that seamed back in to uproot his off-stump.
On the other hand, the Indian captain was discreet in playing attacking shots in his watchful knock. He stepped out against Bashir to find the odd boundary while unleashing his drives and pull against the fast bowlers.
In the afternoon session, England skipper Ben Stokes, who has a knack of picking up wickets out of nowhere, had Jaiswal (87 off 107) caught behind off a short and wide delivery.
Jaiswal perhaps went too hard at the ball only to offer a simple catch to Jamie Smith, leaving India at 182 for three at tea.
With not much happening in the session, the English fans in the iconic Eric Hollies Stand sporadically made plenty of noise to push the home team. India added 84 runs in 28 overs in the session for the loss of Jaiswal.
In the 34th over, Gill survived a DRS lbw call off a Brydon Carse nip backer due to an inside edge.
Pant joined him late in the session and took his time to settle down before using his feet against Bashir for a six over mid-on.
In the morning, Jaiswal maintained his aggression despite being tested by the England pacers while Karun Nair (31 off 50) showed promise at number three before being dismissed late in the morning session.
Considering the overhead conditions, Stokes opted to bowl but Jaiswal and Nair did well to survive the tough period. In the first hour, KL Rahul (2 off 26), played on to the stumps off a Chris Woakes delivery before Jaiswal-Nair duo added 80 for the second wicket.
Carse got one to rise sharply minutes before lunch, inducing an outside edge off Nair's bat that went to Harry Brook at second slip.
There was not a lot of swing but the ball seamed a fair bit in the first hour of play. Carse targeted Jaiswal’s rib cage often but the southpaw was unscathed.
Jaiswal began with a couple of cover drives off Carse, who purposely bowled full to the batter and mixed it up an odd short ball into the body. Besides the flowing drives, the southpaw also played the pull and a slap over backward point off Ben Stokes.
Nair, moved up three places in the batting order from the last game, was offered plenty of full balls from the England pacers and he duly obliged by driving it through the cover and straight boundary.
Before toss, the boundary ropes being brought in significantly caught the eye of many at Edgbaston.
With premier match winner Bumrah rested from the game, India brought in Akash Deep in his place while making two interesting changes, leaving out Sai Sudharsan for Washington Sundar and replacing Shardul Thakur with Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Kuldeep Yadav was once again ignored as India picked a second spinner in batting all-rounder Washington. For a team that struggled to take 20 wickets at Leeds, the decision to shore up the batting was debatable.
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BJP to resolve decades-old Gorkha issue within 6 months of forming govt in Bengal: Shah
Kurseong (WB) (PTI): Seeking to strike an emotional chord with the politically crucial hill electorate, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday promised that the BJP would resolve the decades-old Gorkha issue within six months if the BJP comes to power in West Bengal.
He said no party other than the BJP could find a solution acceptable to the Gorkhas.
Addressing a rally at Kurseong in Darjeeling district, Shah said the BJP understands the concerns and aspirations of the Gorkhas and would work towards a settlement on their terms.
"Within six months of the BJP forming the government in West Bengal, every Gorkha will have a smile on his face. We will find such a solution to the Gorkha issue that Gorkhas can live in peace," he said.
The Gorkha issue refers to the century-old demand for a separate state in the Gorkha-majority hill districts of north Bengal, although Shah did not utter the words 'Gorkhaland' or 'statehood' in his speech.
Instead, echoing the BJP's long-standing promise of a "permanent political solution" to the hill question, Shah said the issue would be resolved in accordance with the aspirations of the Gorkhas.
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"I am leaving today after promising you that as soon as the BJP government is formed, the decades-old Gorkha issue will be resolved according to the Gorkhas' terms," he said.
The BJP, which has won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat in every election since 2009, has consistently promised a permanent political solution to the hill issue without committing itself to a separate state.
The home minister accused the Mamata Banerjee government of refusing to engage with efforts to resolve the issue and said that after becoming home minister, he had convened three meetings on the matter.
"After becoming home minister, I convened three major meetings to resolve the Gorkha issue, but not even once did a representative from Mamata's side attend," Shah said.
"Mamata Didi, we are not dependent on you for a solution to the Gorkha issue. We have appointed an interlocutor who is preparing a report by engaging with Gorkha organisations here and officials of the West Bengal government," he added.
Claiming that the BJP alone understands the concerns of the hill residents, Shah said, "We understand you and your problems. No one except the BJP can resolve the Gorkha issue."
The home minister alleged that the Congress and the TMC had betrayed the people of the hills for decades.
"The Congress and the TMC have done injustice not only to Darjeeling but also to our patriotic Gorkha brothers," he said.
Seeking to broaden the BJP's pitch beyond the Gorkha issue, Shah sought to portray the election as a battle to free north Bengal and the hills from what he called years of neglect and injustice under the TMC rule.
"This election is to free the entire West Bengal from TMC's crimes. In a way, it is an election to gain freedom from the injustice happening for decades in north Bengal and Darjeeling," he said.
Referring to the Sandeshkhali controversy, Shah said, "The whole of West Bengal has decided that it is time for Didi to step down. This election is about protecting our sisters across the state. The Sandeshkhali incident has brought shame to the state."
The BJP leader told the gathering that while Darjeeling had repeatedly backed the BJP, the party needed support from the rest of West Bengal this time.
"For three elections, Darjeeling has been voting for the BJP anyway, but the rest of West Bengal did not provide as much support. But this time, the whole of West Bengal has made up its mind that it's time to oust Didi," he said.
Shah also raised the issue of Gorkhas' names being allegedly deleted from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
"The names of some Gorkhas were deleted during SIR. Once the BJP government is formed in West Bengal, all such names will be included in the electoral rolls again," he said.
He further alleged that hundreds of false cases had been slapped on Gorkha activists and promised that these would be withdrawn if the BJP formed the government.
"They have filed hundreds of false cases against our Gorkha brothers and sisters. The results will come out on May 4, and a BJP government will be formed on May 5. Before July 31, the BJP government in West Bengal will withdraw all cases against Gorkha brothers and sisters," Shah said.
The home minister also attacked the Mamata Banerjee government over budgetary allocations for the tribals.
"For tribal development, for Adivasis, for the hills, and for north Bengal, the Mamata government's total budget is Rs 2,000 crore. But for Muslims and madrasas, the Mamata government's budget is Rs 5,800 crore. This injustice will not last much longer," he said.
The demand for Gorkhaland and greater political autonomy for the Darjeeling hills has remained one of the most enduring and emotive political issues in north Bengal, often shaping electoral outcomes in the region.
Successive agitations -- from the Subhash Ghising-led GNLF movement in the 1980s to the later stir spearheaded by Bimal Gurung and the GJM, have repeatedly convulsed the hills.
Yet, despite the BJP's rise in Darjeeling and its continued dominance in the Lok Sabha seat since 2009, the party has so far stopped short of endorsing a separate state as it would have an adverse impact on south Bengal, preferring instead to speak of a "permanent political solution".
