(Image source from: x.com/BCCI)
India achieved their first victory at Edgbaston by defeating England in the second Test by 336 runs. This win tied the five-Test series 1-1 for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in Birmingham on Sunday. England had won the first Test in Headingley the previous week. Before Sunday, India had never won at Edgbaston in eight Test matches, having lost seven. Shubman Gill’s young Indian team ended a 58-year wait for a win at the ground. Akash Deep bowled incredibly well, taking 6 wickets for 99 runs, and a total of ten wickets in the match. India played this game without Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav, and they were behind 0-1 after losing the previous Test in Leeds. Akash, who replaced Bumrah, bowled fast and caused problems for the batsmen with the new ball on an easy pitch. England were bowled out for 271 on the last day, with plenty of time left in the session.
Akash is now only the second Indian bowler to take ten wickets in a Test match in England, after Chetan Sharma, who took 10 wickets for 188 runs, also in Birmingham in 1986. Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar supported him well, each taking one wicket. Shubman Gill, who scored 269 and 161, celebrated his first win as India’s Test captain.
India took only 100 minutes on the last day to get the final seven wickets, winning in Birmingham and erasing the memory of their loss at Headingley. Akash helped India towards winning by quickly getting rid of Ollie Pope and Harry Brook, who were batting overnight. Before lunch, Washington Sundar dismissed England's captain, Ben Stokes, putting India in a great position to win big. On Saturday, Akash had bowled very well, taking out Ben Duckett and Joe Root. He started the day perfectly by getting Ollie Pope out in his second over, with a ball that bounced higher than expected and hit Pope's elbow before hitting the wickets.
Akash bowled a good ball that got Harry Brook out leg before wicket. The replay showed the ball would have just hit the top of the middle stump. Steve Smith, who had a great first innings with 184 runs, quickly hit three fours off Akash. Stokes played well, hitting four fours off Mohammed Siraj. Ravindra Jadeja’s spin caused problems for Smith and Stokes, especially since Stokes doesn't usually play left-arm spin well. Jadeja bowled his over quickly and then got Stokes out leg before wicket as Stokes tried to defend against Washington. Stokes reviewed the decision, but the ball’s movement hit his pad first and would have hit the stumps, which was bad news for him and England right before lunch.
After lunch, Smith started well, hitting three fours off Jadeja and Washington, reaching his fifty in 73 balls. He kept attacking, hitting Washington for two sixes and a four, giving England a small chance to draw. However, India kept taking wickets. Prasidh Krishna bowled a short ball that Chris Woakes hit high in the air, and Siraj caught it easily.
The TV replays showed the ball going over the stumps, so the batter was saved. Smith hit Prasidh for a four and then smashed two sixes in a row off Akash, sending the ball over the back leg and middle of the field. Trying for a third six in a row, Smith was tricked by a slower ball and was caught far out, giving Akash his first time getting five wickets in a Test match. India kept doing well when Tongue tried to hit a full ball from Jadeja, but Siraj made an amazing one-handed catch diving to his right. Akash then got his sixth wicket when Carse hit the ball to Gill, who caught it, and India won, taking another victory overseas.
