New Delhi: India will aim to return to winning ways when they take on England in the 2nd Test of the ongoing five-match series at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Wednesday, July 02. Shubman Gill & Co. lost the first Test in Leeds by five wickets and face an uphill task of levelling the series in Birmingham, where India are yet to win their first Test against England.
India have a woeful record in Test cricket at Edgbaston in Birmingham, which will be a huge concern for the Gill-led team ahead of the second Test. India have so far played eight Test matches at the venue and have remained winless in all of them. India’s best Test result at Edgbaston was a draw in 1986. The visitors have suffered seven defeats and drawn one out of 8 Tests at the venue. England have seven wins and a draw against India in 8 Tests at the venue.
To make matters worse for the visitors, they are likely to head into the 2nd Test without their pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who is likely to be rested due to workload management. It was pre-decided that Bumrah will play only three out of the five Test matches in the series, and is expected to miss the second Test after bowling over 43 overs in the series opener in Leeds.
If Bumrah is rested, India will have to rethink their strategies and rejig their pace attack for the second Test. The experienced pacer is likely to be replaced by Akash Deep or left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh. In his absence, the duo of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna will have to step up to ensure India fight for all 20 wickets in the match.
India’s highest run-getters in Tests at Edgbaston
Former India captain Virat Kohli holds the record for most runs by an Indian batter in Tests at Edgbaston with 231 runs to his name in 2 matches at an average of over 57, including a century and a fifty. Kohli retired from Test cricket in May this year. He is followed by the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, who scored 216 runs in 3 Tests at the venue at an average of 36, including 3 fifties.
Among the current members of the Indian squad, Rishabh Pant is the highest run-getter in Tests at Edgbaston with 203 runs in 1 Test at an excellent average of 101.5, including a solitary ton and a fifty. Overall, Pant is in the third spot on the list of Indians with most Test runs at Edgbaston and has a strong chance of overtaking Kohli for the top spot in the upcoming 2nd Test against England.
| Player | Span | Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 |
| V Kohli | 2018–2022 | 2 | 4 | 231 | 149 | 57.75 | 1 | 1 |
| SM Gavaskar | 1974–1986 | 3 | 6 | 216 | 68 | 36 | 0 | 3 |
| RR Pant | 2022–2022 | 1 | 2 | 203 | 146 | 101.5 | 1 | 1 |
| SR Tendulkar | 1996–2011 | 2 | 4 | 187 | 122 | 46.75 | 1 | 0 |
| GR Viswanath | 1974–1979 | 2 | 4 | 182 | 78 | 45.5 | 0 | 2 |
| MS Dhoni | 2011–2011 | 1 | 2 | 151 | 77 | 151 | 0 | 2 |
India’s highest wicket-takers in Tests at Edgbaston
Former pacer Chetan Sharma is India’s leading wicket-taker in Tests at Edgbaston, Birmingham. He has 10 wickets to his name in a solitary Test at the venue with the best figures of 6/58. He is followed by former spinner EAS Prasanna, who took 8 wickets in 2 matches at the venue. R Ashwin, who retired in December last year, is in the third spot with 7 wickets in a single game at the venue.
| Player | Span | Mat | Inns | Wkts | BBI | BBM | 5W | 10W |
| Chetan Sharma | 1986 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 for 58 | 10 for 188 | 1 | 1 |
| EAS Prasanna | 1967–1974 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 4 for 60 | 7 for 111 | 0 | 0 |
| R Ashwin | 2018 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 for 62 | 7 for 121 | 0 | 0 |
| Kapil Dev | 1979–1986 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 for 146 | 5 for 146 | 1 | 0 |
| Ishant Sharma | 2011–2018 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 for 51 | 6 for 97 | 1 | 0 |
| BS Chandrasekhar | 1967–1979 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3 for 43 | 6 for 137 | 0 | 0 |