Three all-rounder gamble pays off as Team India create unique record

Team India achieved this feat at Birmingham during the second Test. At one point on day one, India looked in a spot of bother, at 211/5, with Rishabh Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy dismissed quickly. However, skipper Shubman Gill, who slammed a historic double ton, carried on with his resolve to become “India’s best batter on tour” and made sure that the lower-order contributed something meaningful, forming a double-century stand with Ravindra Jadeja and a century stand with Washington Sundar.After that fifth wicket fell, Gill had a 203-run stand for the sixth wicket with Jadeja, who made a carefully compiled 89 in 137 balls, with 10 fours and a six. After that, Sundar held one end steady for Gill to continue with his record-breaking exploits, scoring 42 in 103 balls, with three fours and a six, stitching a 144-run stand for the seventh wicket.

Akash Deep (6), Mohammed Siraj (8) and Prasidh Krishna (5) did their bit in making sure India scored 376 runs after fall of their fifth wicket, most by them in a Test innings, India was bundled out for 587 runs, a massive total. It is their fourth-highest total on English soil, with their top effort being 664 runs at The Oval in August 2007, which resulted in a draw.India outdid their previous record of 370 runs added after the fall of the fifth wicket, against West Indies at Kolkata back in 2013. After being reduced to 83/5, debutant Rohit Sharma (177 in 301 balls, with 23 fours and a six), skipper MS Dhoni (42) and Ravichandran Ashwin (124 in 210 balls, with 11 fours) staged a commendable lower-order fightback, taking India to 453 all out. Rohit and Ashwin had a memorable 280-run partnership for the seventh wicket. India won what was legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s last international match ever.