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TimesofIndia.com in Birmingham: India batter Yashasvi Jaiswal backed captain Shubman Gill’s selection decisions for the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Wednesday.With India trailing 0-1 in the five-match series, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was rested for the match due to workload management, with Akash Deep included in his place. At the toss, captain Shubman Gill explained that the team management believed Bumrah would find more suitable conditions at Lord’s.India also brought in Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy in place of B Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur — moves that strengthened the batting lineup. However, without Bumrah, the side looked notably different.By the end of Day 1, India posted 310 for 5, with Gill anchoring the innings with a composed unbeaten century. Jaiswal narrowly missed his own ton, falling for an aggressive 87.
Gill, unbeaten on 114 off 216 balls, notched up his second successive century in the series, following his 147 at Headingley. He became one of the few Indian captains to register back-to-back hundreds in his first two Tests at the helm. His latest ton came off 199 deliveries and included 12 boundaries.“Incredible innings. There’s no confusion regarding the squad. He’s (Shubman) very clear about what he wants to do. He has been amazing with the bat,” Jaiswal told reporters at the end of the day’s play.Jaiswal had once again set the tone early, smashing 13 boundaries in his 87-run knock, while Gill’s innings was marked by calmness and precise shot selection.Karun Nair (31) and Rishabh Pant (25) failed to convert their starts, while Nitish Reddy (1) was undone by a sharp nip-backer from Chris Woakes.“I really enjoyed it (batting). I looked to play session by session and then grabbed the opportunity to score runs. They bowled well with the new ball, and the wicket was a bit damp. We — Rishabh Pant, Gill, KL Rahul, and I — are enjoying batting together,” said Jaiswal.
