IND vs ENG Highlights: Shubman Gill looks every bit an Indian captain, scores century as India reach 310/5 at stumps

IND vs ENG Live Score, India vs England 2nd Test 2025: A locked-in Shubman Gill looked in total control on day one, playing barely any false strokes as he reached stumps at 114*.

IND vs ENG Highlights, India vs England 2nd Test 2025: India fight back well from the disappointment of their first loss by putting up 310/5 on the first day's play in Birmingham. It was Shubman Gill who stitched things together, playing with immense certainty and control as his second match as captain also saw his second century as captain. Yashasvi Jaiswal with 87 runs of his own, and Ravindra Jadeja also batting on 41* overnight.

England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bowl first in the second Test. India, aiming to bounce back in the series, made three significant changes to their playing XI. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested, paving the way for pacer Akash Deep to make his debut. All-rounders Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy have also been brought in, replacing Shardul Thakur and Sai Sudharsan, as India look to strengthen both their bowling depth and batting stability for this must-win encounter. 

It's usually a pretty good sign when a high-profile Test series starts off with an instant classic. It spells good things for the remainder of the long tour, with the bar and the tempo set for the two teams to perform to. India scored nearly 850 runs, had a first innings lead, had six unique centuries, and conspired to lose; England found their rhythm, a lovely tempo, did what they do best while their identity as a team continues to be polished and grow more and more mature. What it means is that as the teams head southwards from Leeds and settle in Birmingham, fans will be enticed by the promise of another five days of top-quality, high-excitement Test cricket.

The second match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy takes us to Edgbaston, where India won't have the fondest memories of playing England. This was where England chased down their record total in Test cricket three years ago, and just over a week removed from when they touched those heights again with their second-highest chase, it's a question of putting it all in the past and quickly moving on for Shubman Gill's men. For the large part, India played good, impressive cricket in Leeds, but were undone by a lack of clinicality with the bat after giving themselves really strong foundations, and sloppiness in the field to not capture the chances that their bowlers did manage to manufacture. This means that even a tough loss to swallow has plenty of silver linings, at least with the batting.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant — four of the top five played innings of note, going into the triple digits and helping India give themselves a really strong start to the tour. Particularly Pant, who has grasped his chance to be a central figure of this team by becoming only the second wicketkeeper to score centuries in each innings of a Test match. Sai Sudharsan showed glimpses in the second innings of his debut, and nerves clearly got to him just a little bit: India will be hoping he is only all the better for getting his debut out of the way, and will want him to show the class he possesses.

For the men in blue, the question is more about whether their bowling can turn up. In relatively flat conditions at Headingley, they simply didn't have the bite that is integral to success overseas. Jasprit Bumrah shone in the first innings but was dampened in the second, and with his participation up in the air in Birmingham, that means extra responsibility and extra quality will need to be displayed by the incumbents and whoever else comes in. Expect a fair amount of shuffling with the bowling group, and hope that it works out better for the team in this match.

As far as England are concerned, it is just about doing more of the same. Rolling with the punches as they come, and then respond with solid ones of their own when they can. The batting looked strong as well, and the bowling was ruthless and sharp in the key moments like India's wasn't. Ben Stokes will know that India are good enough to jump on any slip-ups his team makes over the course of a long Test match, and his directive to his team will be to maintain the intensity and the consistent quality they showed in the series opener.

Both teams know they have space to improve even after that historic Test match, in which all things considered, things were very level. What this promises is a close series with plenty of tightly-fought games. When the going gets tough, which of these sets of players will spur into getting themselves going? That is what it might come down to.