Shubman Gill marked his debut as India captain with a century and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal added a sparkling ton of his own as England toiled after winning the toss on the opening day of the first Test.
Following the retirement of superstars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, India proved the future of their batting is in safe hands, while at the same time showing England what they are up against in this five-Test series.
The tourists moved to 359-3 on a sticky, oppressive day at Headingley. Jaiswal, the 23-year-old opener who destroyed England in India 18 months ago, crunched 101 and Gill elegantly stroked his way to 127 not out.
Gill’s ongoing partnership with Rishabh Pant is worth 138, Pant ominously poised on 65 not out.
Ben Stokes’ decision at the toss will be pored over. Despite the heat and a pitch offering no obvious encouragement for the bowlers, Gill said he also would have fielded first.
And, after making their choice, England were collectively below par with the ball, failing to exploit the swing on offer throughout the day. Stokes himself was the pick, bowling briskly for his 2-43.
This ground has a long history of teams coming from behind to win Tests and England are far from out of this one, though have left themselves vulnerable to a changing weekend weather forecast that could be perfect for India pace magician Jasprit Bumrah.
