Gill, Akash and Siraj Heroics lead India to Birmingham Victory!

[00:00:08] Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Edges & Sledges Cricket Podcast. I'm your host Ashwin, I'm joined by Varun on a very exciting day in the, I almost called it the Pataudi Trophy, but the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy as India, thanks to Shubman Gil, Mohammed Sarajan Akashdeep has tied up the series one-all in Edgbaston. Varun, how are you doing man? After the first test this didn't really feel possible, going into a second test without Jaspreet Bumrah.

[00:00:38] And yet here we are, one-all. How are you feeling about it? Yeah, it's completely kind of against the run of plays, what I would say. You know, you're kind of going into this series thinking, three games of Bumrah, we've already lost one, the best we can do is win two more. And honestly, it was a little bit of a defeatist attitude, but I did not expect this. So when India kind of won last night, and there was a lot of drama about it,

[00:01:08] we'll talk about it because there was rain on the fifth day, there was a declaration that pretty much went way over, and we'll get into the details, but overall feeling super pumped. It's a young Indian team, I think, to go and win in Birmingham where we've never won before is fantastic. So, you know, you could see smiles all around. Shubman Gill was smiling. Gautam Kambir had the biggest smile on his face.

[00:01:32] And man, we needed that. I think in the last ten tests, this is only our second win after Perth, right? So we had that whitewash to New Zealand. We had one win in Perth in Australia, and now it's Birmingham. So if you think about it from last October, you know, this is only our second win. So I'm excited. And just the prospects of a five-month series look so much better when you're in one-all with three games to go.

[00:02:01] Yeah, couldn't agree more. Really, really well said. A lot to unpack. Let's start, actually, with the team selection, okay? So if you think about the key changes from the first game for India, right? Karun Dair got moved up to three. So Sai Sudarshan basically got one shot, didn't really deliver, including a duck in the first innings, and was sort of dropped. So with Karun at three, then they brought in Nistesh at six, Jadeja playing seven.

[00:02:26] And then they brought in Sundar at eight, effectively for Shardul to play that all-round roll as a spinner. And Akash came in as Bumrah sat out. So there's quite a few changes, right? Three in the grand scheme of things. How are you feeling on the first morning, before the toss, with these changes? A lot of the dialogue was, it seems a little bit, for lack of a better way to put it, bits and pieces-y, right? You've picked Jadeja Sundar, both of who can bat, neither of who is a cool deep in terms of all-round spinner.

[00:02:56] You've picked Reddy, who can bat, but is not that good a bowler. And obviously, it's great to look back on a good result. So I'm not going to be negative. But on that first day, we were all feeling a little confused by the same selection and uncertain. How were you feeling about it? Yeah, so it was an interesting one, because at the end of the first test, I basically was thinking to myself, is India going to view this as a bowling problem or a batting problem, right?

[00:03:21] And I think, just my view is that it's a bowling problem. And that's how I and most others would have viewed it. So when India came into this test, they viewed it as a batting problem. Because they said, we need to extend our batting. And, you know, and let's be honest, man. Like, Mitish Kumar Reddy is not a bowler, okay? He will pick up that one odd wicket, but I would, like, almost put him in the Joe Root level.

[00:03:50] In fact, Joe Root probably has more wickets and things like that. So I understand the Mitish Kumar Reddy pick because he did no wrong. He actually scores at a decent pace in Australia. And I think it works, right? I think the Washington Sundar one is where I got completely perplexed. Because you could have easily put a Kuldeep Yadav in, you know, even if you're chasing, England is chasing 380 on the last day. With a Kuldeep, you're almost thinking it's going to be harder.

[00:04:18] And that's what's happened in the kind of last two tests we've played in England, right? We have lost with England chasing 380 out. So the Washington Sundar one is something I could not understand. But I think it's very clear that the Indian team management believes that Redding deep is more important. And can't fault them for that. It's just that it was a little surprising. Yeah, I mean, you were chasing some sort of a record total in the first test,

[00:04:46] or England was chasing it, and did it with ease. So there's definitely some element of the English team Stokes, basketball being in Team India's heads. And we saw that play come to play a couple of times in this match. But let's talk about that first innings then, right? Felt like a similar pattern to some extent. Rahul didn't start very strong. Karun looked okay for a little bit. People are being critical of Karun, but he did bat 50 balls out there. He did make 31-odd runs. Jaswal ended up with 87. Rishabh had a decent knock. Redding didn't perform.

[00:05:16] There are a couple of things to talk about. Obviously, Jadeja has shown himself with the bat, right? He ended up making 89 in the first inning, 69 not out in the second. So back-to-back half centuries for Jadeja, which was awesome to see. But the man of the moment, skipper Shubmangil, 269. The highest score by an Indian captain. I think it's the fifth or sixth highest score by an Indian batter ever. By the way, Sivag has three or four of those top ten scores by an Indian test batter ever.

[00:05:45] And just a tremendous, tremendous knock batted across. Two days batted with Jaswal first, then with Jaddu, then with Sundar. I mean, it goes without saying we're going to talk separately, I guess, about his 150 score in the second innings, which has also shattered all kinds of records. But how brilliant was it to see this guy with the burden of captaincy down 1-0 in a venue India has not won a test match, as you said. Just brilliant, right? Yeah, it was brilliant.

[00:06:14] And sometimes what happens is captaincy brings out the best in certain people and it brings out the worst in certain people. And I think in this case, all of us were joking about his average in the Sena countries before this series started. And I mean, he's what hit double century, a 150 and a century. Like, I think when you think of like Virat Kohli in 2018 or so it was, I think he got 600 runs against England. And everyone was like, that was a monster series.

[00:06:44] I wouldn't be surprised if this guy's already close to 600, right? With three matches to go. So it is shaping up to be potentially one of the best series, I would say, ever from an Indian batsman batting overseas. The cynics will say that the batting surfaces are very different. And I kind of get that. But still, you don't see anybody making 269. So full credit to him. I think calm and composed.

[00:07:13] I think what's nice is he doesn't get bogged down. He knows he has to keep this scoreboard ticking. He goes at 70 strike rate, which, to be honest, is like probably just second to Jaiswal and Pant, right? And there's just something very nice about the kind of the way his bat flows and the calmness, the composure. They do call him the prince, right? So let's see. He is living up to his name. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:07:39] Just to be clear, three weeks ago, he averaged 35 in test cricket. We were all saying averaged 35, no centuries outside. I think it was India and West Indies. Okay. Is this really the right guy to be captain? He now averages 42 point something. Then let's get into it a little bit more. So 587, right? I want to pause and talk to you about Sundar for one second. So you mentioned we chose to bat deep.

[00:08:06] I mean, when he walked in, the score was 414 and Jadid had gotten out. Based on the last two games, the last two innings in the first game, we probably would have gone from 414 to 430, 440 and been out. He was in a more than 144 run partnership and got to the difference between 414 for 6 and 587 all out. Just how important was that 100 ball knock from Sundar? Very important. And that's why I said, like, some of us probably got it wrong

[00:08:33] where we're saying you should not be playing batting till 8, etc. That innings was basically the difference, right, between the two teams because it allowed Gil to, you know, I can't remember the number of runs he's called after, but let's assume Washington's called 42 and Gil's called 60 just for argument scale. They added 100 runs plus. I think they partnered for 144 and Washington's. So Gil made 100. So, yeah, so Gil actually got close to 100 runs.

[00:09:02] And that's what batting deep does, right? And that's what, you know, when you've got Panth at 6 or Jadid at 7 or even in the old days of VVS Lakshman at 6, Tony at 7, the problem is batting with the pressure of, you know, how do I rotate the strike on the last ball? How do I farm the strike? Like, it's a very different kind of pressure. Can you imagine Washington Sundar has walked in?

[00:09:29] Probably technically better than I would say, you know, Panth and Reddy and Jadeja. Just imagine the easing of the pressure on Shubman Gil, right? Here's a guy now who can hold up one end and not only hold up, score runs. So, I think there is merit in this. What I would question is, couldn't, you know, could you have played Sundar instead of a Reddy, for example?

[00:09:58] But look again, they've won. So, let's give them credit for this. It's our job to nitpick and kind of go through and think what else could we change. But I agree with you, man. That innings basically defined the game. Yeah. I think a lot to unpack. And we will talk about the next game. But I do, Faram, want to come back and talk then about India's bowlers. So, you talked about how you think it was a bowling challenge. And what happened here was, I think, unexpected to any of us. After India has put on 587.

[00:10:26] By the way, we'll come at the end and talk about the toss and Ben Stokes' decision to bowl first. After India made 587 runs. Ben Duckett gets out to a peach from Akashthi. Who didn't get selected for the first game? Remember this. Ollie Pomp, next ball. Okay. Zach Crowley a couple overs later to Siraj. Joe Root goes. Ben Stokes goes. Five for 84.

[00:10:54] You're thinking, man, there's still a three-run deficit. And, of course, then the magnificent potential from Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, came. Disappointing, but both great knocks. And, you know, I won't falter bowlers too much. But at 84 for five, you're thinking this match could be over on day two. You're thinking we were all thinking about follow-ons, etc. I mean, what a start. And what a dream start for Akash Deep. Who are now all saying, gosh, why did he miss the first game?

[00:11:24] Yeah. And I don't know if you remember. I'll send you a screenshot of this later. But in the Australia series, I wrote to you specifically saying, give Akash Deep the new ball. Okay. He has an ability to move the ball. He has an ability to swing it. And I just feel like in Australia, we missed a trick by going on bowling Siraj with the new ball. So, Akash Deep, I think, is a new ball bowler. I think he can make the ball talk.

[00:11:53] And we saw that today. I mean, four wickets. And he basically was a big, big factor for India's win. In fact, Shubman Gill got another match. But I'm saying, if Shubman had maybe scored a century in the first innings and century in the second, I would have probably put Akash Deep right up there. It's just that Shubman Gill got a colossal mammoth amount of runs that you could not overlook it. But, you know, there was...

[00:12:20] I think Akash Deep has kind of, in my opinion, cemented his place now. Now, Siraj bowled exceptionally well, too. And, you know, at the end, there was Ash Deep cracking a joke saying, I believe only in Jassi and Siraj Bhai. He was telling Siraj this. So, 10 wickets between the two of them. Now, we've spoken praises of them. The flip side, Prasid Krishna was just not able to do anything different.

[00:12:49] He just couldn't figure out how to change his line, length, variations. And I think that was the difference between Akash Deep. Like, we'll talk about it, but the second innings, Akash Deep got smacked for two sixes by Jamie Smith. And the plan was very clearly to bowl short. The third ball, he bowled it the same, except it was a slower ball and he got the wicket. That's the kind of thinking that you need. And Akash Deep, when he picked up these wickets, kind of turned around and said, I'm here to stay, right?

[00:13:16] So, you know, and I was also reading that Vidart Kohli had told him that there's going to be a gap in pace bowlers in test cricket. You need to be ready. So, you know, it's only when somebody does well, do you start uncovering all the backstory and the hard work and the time that has gone in. But I think credit to Akash Deep, man. Like, just fantastic. And I was just talking about the flip side, right? So, Prasid Krishna, 34. Nitish Reddy, 6 over 0 for 29. Nothing bowling.

[00:13:46] Sundar, 14 over 0 for 73. And that's where you start talking about those bits and pieces, right? It's not making sense. Okay. So, 587. 407 to follow. Varon, India comes out for their second innings with 180 run lead. Okay? Let's think through the math here a little bit, right? In a historical, any historical context, regardless of surface, etc. You're thinking 350, 400-ish is enough. Jaswal comes out, starts batting like a T20.

[00:14:16] Makes 28 of 22 balls. Rahul comes out, looks good, makes 55. Nair, again, about the same 20, 30 runs of 40 to 50 balls. So, fairly similar, which we'll come talk to as we talk about the lords just coming up. Gil, again, makes another century. Pant. By the way, Rishab Pant's knock. I mean, just insane, even by Rishab Pant's standards. He was just going after everything, just tonking the ball everywhere.

[00:14:44] Let's talk a little bit about, obviously, as Gil was batting, Jadeja then came out to bat. Jadeja looked like he was playing very defensively for parts of it. And at one point, and for many points of this game, we were like, all right, let's just declare. Even the English players were just looking at the batter and saying, all right, what are we going to declare? Then Gil gets out. And Reddy walks in. Okay, maybe we'll keep going. Right? Was it Reddy to walk? Yeah, Reddy walked in. Then Reddy gets out second ball and you're thinking, okay, fine. Now you're going to declare.

[00:15:13] And Wash walks out. And so what was the thought process here, Varun? At the end of the day, there's a few different ways this could have gone down. They ended up needing setting 608 to chase. Again, a mammoth performance by Gil, very well backed up by Rahul, Pant, Jadeja, half centuries. But what was the thought process in letting it go this far? And had this match ended in a draw, would we be having a very, very, very different discussion? Oh, if it ended in a draw, we would have been up in arms.

[00:15:42] I mean, I would have been very angry today, body. Right? And in fact, I think somebody, I can't remember who, was actually sledging Gil when he was batting saying, are you playing for a draw? Because there's rain forecast tomorrow. Now, when we kind of started day five, there was rain and it was belting down. Right? Like, I was genuinely worried until our resident expert in the UK, DJ, message saying,

[00:16:10] it's the UK, it'll pass in 40 minutes. And that's exactly what happened. Like, from that time, from the time DJ sent that message, in like 45 minutes, we were back on the field. Now, talking about the declaration, it's very interesting. For me, like, clearly they have chased 380 to 400 with ease previously. Okay? So, I think when you're thinking about targets, you're thinking minimum 400, 425, 450. Right?

[00:16:38] If I'm not mistaken, I think the record chase in a test is also just about 400. So, you're thinking about 450, but then the basketball approach maybe pushes you to 500. I think the difference between 500 and 600 is probably just that stamp of authority to say, I've killed the game. Right? I have put you out of the game. And I might be taking a 10% risk that it's a draw, but I know you're going to go for it, which means I can pick up the wickets.

[00:17:07] But I also know that you cannot score 600. So, I'm saying it in a roundabout way, but I think that is the thinking. I think that was the thinking. Now, I do think it was wrong. I think with the rain forecast, I think, you know, once you hit 525 or so, we should have just stopped and put that confidence in our bowlers. And I do want to, yeah, give a special call out to Panth, man. I think his innings changed the game.

[00:17:33] Like, you know, everyone thinks he doesn't, he's just a chaotic player, but there is method to the madness. He came out there and he changed the momentum. He increased Gil's pace of scoring. And that period of play, to me, basically signaled the new India that says, you know, we are not only going to go for the win, we're going to go for the kill. Yeah, really, really well said. I do not think anything about Panth. I don't really think a lot of Panth. This is just chaos.

[00:18:01] I do not think any part of this was without true method to the madness. We could spend all day talking about Shubman Gilsnok, et cetera. I want to come back, talk about the bowling innings. So, there's about 10 overs, 10 to 12 overs left in the day. And then all of day five with some rain. We're going to take a very quick break, Varun. We'll be right back and talk about the end of this test and what's ahead at Lodge.

[00:18:31] Welcome back to the Edges and Sledges Cricket Podcast. Varun, 10 overs left, 608 to set. England has always said they go for any target. But let's be clear, over six runs and over. I call it 90 overs on day five, 10-ish overs on day four. That's a mammoth task even for England with their basketball approach. And it gets even harder when on the 10th ball, Zach Crawley hits the ball to Sai Sudarshan

[00:18:58] at a backward point position, gets out. Then, similarly as to happen before, Ben Duckett goes to Akashdeep and then Joe Root right before the end of play goes to Akashdeep. Three wickets have fallen. 71, or sorry, 50 for three as Joe Root goes out. At this point, you're thinking, man, it's got to happen. It's got to go into this way.

[00:19:24] And yet, obviously, as rain came on the first part of day five and all of those things, anything is still possible, right? It is. And I think we made a mistake. We've overlooked Harry Broker and J.B. Smith's innings a little bit. I think you called it out, but I just want to say how brilliant it was. Brooke, 158. Jamie Smith, 184. I mean, this Jamie Smith guy is like, he's changing the game. He's like a Rishabh Pant kind of a player.

[00:19:53] In fact, all the talk is around, can he be in the next IPL auction? That's the reverse kind of test to IPL. So, giving them that credit and, like you said, being 50 for three, I think we were always, like, we were going to, this was our game. It was going to be, I'm trying to find the right words to say we were always going to win. But this was always our game. You knew there's going to be a stroke of brilliance from two of the players.

[00:20:22] And that could be another 200, 300 runs. But still 600 is going to be out of reach. I think, from my perspective, again, I just want to call out two things here. One, Akash Thiem just kept running in and bowling hard. It doesn't matter. You know, I said in the start, he's a new ball bowler. But he kind of picked up the kids with the old ball as well. He just kept going, kept bowling to the plan, kept bowling to the line of length that Gil and him discussed.

[00:20:50] Like I said, when it was short, it was short. Like, when it was, you know, length deliveries, it was length deliveries. It was just perfect display of the kind of grind that fast bowlers have to put in in test cricket. And the second person I just want to call out is really Jamie Smith. Man, again, 88 of 99. You know, it just shows you that when you've got a big target to chase, if you get bogged down, you know, they could have been all out for 120, 140.

[00:21:18] It's because of him that they got to 270, which I would say is respectable for a fourth innings total. And just, yeah, man, it's just, it just kind of, I would say the fact that the rain stayed away helped us a lot. It was always going to be our game and just genuinely very happy. Yeah, Siraj Pfeiffer in the first innings. Akash Thiem, by the way, four in the first innings, picked up four in the second, then got Jamie Smith out, who was the final kind of pin that needed to fall.

[00:21:46] You know, a little bit of resistance from Brighton Kars at the end there. But Akash, who ended up with 20, more than 21 overs, wanted to keep going. There was one point where you could hear Akash basically telling Gil, he got over there, like, give me one more over. And that's when he got, who was it? No, he got Brighton Kars out, right? That top edge that flew up, that Gil took. It just felt very fitting that Akash got that 10th wicket, that bobbed in the air, Shubman Gil caught it.

[00:22:14] Akash celebrating his first five-wicket haul, which became his first 10 wickets in a match haul. That ended up, and of course, Gil took that catch. I mean, just a stunning performance overall. We could spend all day talking about this. But Varun, as series goes, as five-match series go, won all. It's Sunday night for me, Monday morning for you. And before you know it, Thursday is going to be here. This was one of our shorter gaps. So let's quickly look ahead to Lords and Thursday. You have to believe just when Pohr will be back. Yeah.

[00:22:43] What else do you do to this combination? Does Siraj need a rest now? Does Prasidd sit out after having gotten two chances? Does Asai get a look back in? Do you change the Sundar combination? Sundar banded pretty well. Do you give Kundipal? There's a lot of things that could happen. It's amazing how we have so many questions. It's just one game. After a game, there will be one. Yep. So let's attempt this, right? Bumrah walks back in. He will replace Krishna, in my opinion. They'll keep that momentum going with Siraj, Akashdeep, and Bumrah.

[00:23:13] At Lords, if you can get two one-up, it allows you to give Siraj a break. And Bumrah, we know it's going to have one more. Over time, I would like to see Akashdeep as well come in. I think he deserves a shot, especially with Prasidd. So Prasidd is out for you? I think so. I mean, unless injuries happen and Siraj needs a break. But like I said, I would like to see Arshdeep come in before I see Prasidd come in again. So I think our bowling is sorted. You're going to stick with Jareja and Sundar, in my opinion.

[00:23:42] I think the question is just around two people in my mind. Reddy and Karanayar, right? So I am inclined to believe that they will stick with Karanayar because he's not converted the 30s into 50s, but he's also not done that much wrong. And I think just given the fact that we've won and this team combination, I think they will probably continue with Reddy.

[00:24:09] So actually, all I'm saying is I think Bumrah will just come in to replace Krishna. What about Kuldeep in this equation? Sundar hasn't done enough to justify getting dropped, obviously. But what is your take on Kuldeep as we go into Lords? I don't know. I don't historically remember Lords being a great spinning wicket or a wicket where spinners can make a huge impact. So that's why I just feel that at Lords, he'll probably have to miss out.

[00:24:36] I do think that in the next three games, one Kuldeep will play. And hopefully he shows that he deserves to be there. But, you know, when some of our friends were also messaging saying they kind of understand why an Ashwin retired, because if you are not playing an Ashwin and Kuldeep in England, it's just your strategy. It's not wrong, but you can understand why spinners get frustrated in this environment.

[00:24:59] In fact, if you fast forward a little, the guy who's probably going to replace Chadeja is either Sundar or Akshar, right? So it's not even a Kuldeep or an Ashwin level of spinner. Yeah. So I think Kuldeep will probably set out this next game as well. Phenomenal win. Big, big record-setting win at Birmingham. We go to Lords next. Varun, I predicted 1-3 loss to India. I'm now excited that we're 1-1. Do you think their momentum has swung a little bit? Do you think England, of course, makes some changes?

[00:25:29] They brought Archer into their squad at the end of the first game. They've now brought Gus Atkinson back into their squad because their quick bowling has seemed ineffective. England is going to bounce back. Right before I let you go, how do you see this series? Series ending. I mean, I'm going to say 2-2, probably. I'm going to say 2-2. That's a cop-out. But look, I think momentum is swinging our way. I think Bumrah being back is a big factor. Archer being back as well. I just think this England team at home can't be written off.

[00:25:58] So, you know, they will bounce back hard. But it's a new age India. I mean, the Jaeswal, Gillen, Pants of the world aren't going to give up without a fight. So, I'm very, very happy, like I said, that it's one-all. And I can't wait for the Lord's test to begin. And I'm very glad that there's a short gap. Yeah, well said. We could have talked a lot more. Ben Stokes' batting average has dropped significantly in his last 20 tests or so.

[00:26:24] India's fielding up until one slip catch from Rahul right there at the end of day five was much, much better. So, a lot happened. A great game. Varun, thank you for joining me. For everybody listening, if you're on YouTube, hit that like button, hit that subscribe button, and leave us a comment. Otherwise, at One Tip One Hand on all the social medias, we'll be back next week to talk at the end of the Lord's game. And maybe our moods will be different or maybe we'll continue to be uplifted thanks to Shubman Gil, Akash Teep, Siraj, and the brilliance from this Indian team.

[00:26:53] Thank you, everybody, for joining us. This has been the Edges and Sledges Cricket Podcast signing off.