Updated 3 July 2025 at 18:27 IST
It was a good time for batting in the first session of Day 2 in the second India vs England Test match at Edgbaston on Thursday (July 3). Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja were the overnight batters for the visitors and they were by and large untroubled in the first session, with Gill even bringing up his first 150+ score in Test cricket.
However, Jadeja was eventually gotten rid of by pacer Josh Tongue, who bowled a ripping bouncer that the southpaw could not quite duck away from and managed to give a gentle catch to Jamie Smith behind the stumps.
It was not a one-off ball but a strategy that England had tried throughout the day with little success.
The reason England took to trying bouncer after bouncer at Jadeja was due to the fact that he had managed to irk them early on with a subtle tactic.
Early in the day, Jadeja played a simple forward defence to Chris Woakes before taking a few steps down the ground and retreating. This got him a warning from the umpire as he was skirting close to what is known as the ‘danger area’ of the pitch.
But Jadeja continued to indulge in the tactic, much to the annoyance of the England players. Ben Stokes was visbly upset and even had a verbal go at Jadeja thereafter.
This led to the English team to try and bounce him out and they even set a predominantly leg-side field in a bid to try and get him out.
To his credit, Jadeja managed to duck and hook very well and even managed 89 runs before Tongue eventually got the better of him.
Published 3 July 2025 at 18:27 IST