2nd Test: India's comeback after Headingley loss is a tribute to their character, says Shastri

Birmingham, July 6 (IANS) Former head coach Ravi Shastri hailed team India’s efforts which sealed India’s first ever win at Edgbaston, and that too a massive 336-run victory over England to level the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series 1-1.

Shastri believes the win is a match to remember for the young Indian contingent and a tribute to the character they have shown over the past five days.

"It's a tribute to the character of the boys to bounce back the way they have. The defeat at Leeds was a tough pill to swallow, but this is a game where they have dominated right through with the bat, ball, and in the field. It's a Test match to remember for Gill and India,” said Shastri on Sky Sports.

India came into this game without Jasprit Bumrah, not including Kuldeep Yadav and being 0-1 down after losing the unloseable Test at Leeds. Akash, who came in as Bumrah’s replacement for this game, stepped in to produce a fast bowling performance for ages – troubling batters with the new ball on a flat pitch to bowl out England for 271 on the last day, with more than a session to spare.

However Akash Deep’s heroics followed after skipper Shubman Gill put on an unprecedented show to score 430 runs across the two innings, the most by an Indian in a Test match, to set up the famous victory.

Former India wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik also spoke on the ‘princely manner’ displayed by Gill.

"India has this knack of giving cricketers names, and Gill is known as the prince And he plays in a very princely manner. He is very sure of what he wants to do, but more importantly, he has looked the part mentally. He has batted the most consistently and managed to understand what he wants to bring to the table. For nine out of ten days of Test cricket, India have been the strong team,” said Karthik on Sky Sports.

--IANS

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