2nd Test, Day 1: India close on 310-5 (Gill 114* | Woakes 2-59)
On a slow-burn of an opening day in Birmingham, Shoaib Bashir’s dismissal of Rishabh Pant perhaps offered a sign that the young spinner is improving, as well as a glimpse into England’s Ashes future this winter.
The delivery to Pant two hours before the close was a tempter, tossed up and inviting India’s most destructive batter to take it on.
Pant bit and moments later was walking back to the away dressing room having been caught on the boundary by Zak Crawley.
India, asked to bat first in this second Test by England captain Ben Stokes on a belter of a pitch, were 208 for four.
Ben Stokes wins the toss and England will bowl first at Edgbaston
NO Jasprit Bumrah for India pic.twitter.com/Eey63C7OlX
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 2, 2025
The next over, India, whose much-changed line-up inexplicably didn’t include the rested Jasprit Bumrah, were five down when Nitish Kumar Reddy shouldered arms to a Chris Woakes delivery that clattered into his off-stump.
Woakes, bowling imperiously on his home ground, was excellent all day and deserved far more than two wickets.
Yet Bashir’s breakthrough was the first of the double strike that kept England in the game, even if India captain Shubman Gill’s unbeaten century made it a frustrating end to the first day for the hosts.
Spinners taking wickets after batters are caught on the boundary attempting to take them on is nothing new.
Yet there was skill in this Bashir delivery that means he has now dismissed Pant twice in three innings so far in this series.
Cheteshwar Pujara, the former India batter speaking on BBC Test Match Special, noted: “There was a field placed for Rishabh Pant because England know he’ll go for it when the ball goes above his eye line. Pant saw that but he didn’t time it well.
Captain Shubman Gill’s unbeaten century helped India to 310-5 at the end of day one (Photo: Getty)“He picked the right ball but the execution wasn’t there because of how slow the ball was.”
Ravi Shastri was also full of praise for Bashir’s work during a lengthy spell that saw him contain India.
“I’ll think he’ll get better and better,” the former India coach roared during one stint on commentary for Sky Sports.
This felt like a bit of a breakthrough for the 21-year-old who so often during his fledgling Test career has simply been unable to execute a holding role.
At Headingley last week, his three wickets came at the cost of 190 runs. Even against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge in May, a Test where his six second-innings wickets helped seal victory, he went at more than four an over.
Here, on a day when India had the conditions and the opportunity to take Bashir down, the economy rate for his 19 overs was 3.42.
"You CANNOT FAULT the efforts of that bowling attack!"
Nasser Hussain praises the England attack pic.twitter.com/wB67PkceU0
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 2, 2025
The wicket of Pant was a bonus but it was reward for being brave.
It is this kind of experience against an elite batting line-up that will stand Bashir in good stead for this winter’s Ashes, when the Australians will inevitably try and hit him out of the attack from ball one.
Better spinners than Bashir have been successfully taken down in Australia, including Graeme Swann, who quit three Tests into the 2013-14 series England went on to lose 5-0.
Bashir’s age, relative inexperience – this is his 18th Test – and first-class average of more than 48 will all be reasons why the Aussies are likely to show him little respect.
Yet that may work in his favour, just as it did for Moeen Ali in his debut Ashes series of 2015, when nine of the 12 wickets he took came from catches.
Stokes’ inspirational captaincy has been the key to bringing the very best out of Bashir, a bowler many still believe isn’t good enough for this level.
Pant holes out to Zak Crawley at long-on!
"Cheerio, cheerio, cheerio" shouts The Hollies
2⃣0⃣8⃣-4⃣ pic.twitter.com/qM8ZoX8ZwI
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 2, 2025
After Bashir’s performance against Zimbabwe in May, Stokes insisted: “Hopefully one day it’ll probably make sense as to why we pick him.”
Another piece of that jigsaw slotted into place on the first day here at Edgbaston.
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