4 days ago
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India took control of the second Test at Edgbaston with England requiring 536 runs to win with seven wickets remaining.
Rishabh Pant stole the show with a highly entertaining innings as India declared on 427-6.
There was another hundred for Shubman Gill, who is having a corker in his first Test series as captain - he has now scored 430, the most any India player has in a single Test.
England are going to need a great escape if they're to prevent India from drawing the series level.
So, why is the spotlight falling on Shoaib Bashir? How exactly can England claw their way back into this? And what is it about Pant's antics that make him so entertaining?
Mail Sport's David Lloyd - AKA Bumble - dives into all the hot topics after day four of the second Test.
England have been left with a mountain to climb - 536 runs with just seven wickets remaining
A tough series for Bashir
The spotlight may fall back on Shoaib Bashir with series figures of eight wickets for 476 runs so far.
It was clear that India’s batters were very comfortable and content with him for long periods. In at number 11, he was clonked on the head too by Mohammed Siraj before he was bowled next ball.
So far, this has been a very tough series for the 21-year-old.
Shoaib Bashir has series figures of eight wickets for 476 runs so far - not his best run
Shubman Gill's seamless takeover
People say world-class players are irreplaceable, but are they?
This is a real case of ‘The King is dead, long live the King.’ Shubman Gill has taken over seamlessly from one of the greatest modern batsmen in Virat Kohli and in style too.
Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant is always box office and has taken India to the next level after MS Dhoni. High praise indeed, for both.
Manchester karaoke mayhem
A triumphant return for Oasis in Cardiff prompted me to pop into The Millstone in the Northern Quarter in Manchester for some karaoke.
Paddy, an 87-year-old from Belfast, belted out Suspicious Minds and then a young buck with false tan and gelled up hair absolutely destroyed Don’t Look Back in Anger.
Liam Gallagher would have given him a mouthful.
My advice to England
England need to try and get out of this game unscathed. For large parts, they have been comprehensively outplayed.
It’s dangerous to play for a draw but I hope they don’t play recklessly. With such a mammoth target, it’s a question of not looking at the board, playing naturally and eliminating risk.
Lose and India will have all the momentum. And remember, visiting teams always lift their game at Lord’s.
England need to not look at the board, play naturally, and eliminate risk if they want to catch
Rishabh Pant's wild antics
I see that Rishabh Pant has now taken to throwing his bat at the fielders.
I understand he’s a keen golfer and it makes sense because golfers are told to grip the club very lightly. That lightly in fact that someone could pull the club easily out of your hands.
The only other one I can recall who threw the bat in such a manner was Mark Richardson, who played for New Zealand.
Rishabh Pant is great fun to watch and even ended up flinging his bat across the turf
Fancy dress day
It was fancy dress day at Edgbaston with Little Bo-Peep with no sheep, the pig getting chased by the butchers and many more wonderful ideas.
But none of these compare to the pantomime horse that entered the field at Headingley in 1998 and was charged down by the rugby players, who were there as security.
The poor lad dislocated his shoulder and St John’s Ambulance couldn’t get him out of the costume!
A quiz question for you
Away from Edgbaston and there’s plenty going on at Lancashire. The umpires weren’t happy with Phil Salt’s bat size and he had to get it replaced then Saqib Mahmood took Lancashire’s first hat-trick in 21 years.
There’s one player who played in that T20 on Friday and played in that match in 2004 when Dominic Cork took the hat-trick. Of course it’s Jimmy Anderson.
Now here’s another quiz question. Which team took six wickets in six balls this week?
Could India regret this?
I had a message from none other than Farokh Engineer questioning why Kuldeep Yadav is not playing. Well, I agree Mr Engineer.
On the last day, India may well be crying out for some wrist spin. This is when they need Yadav but in fairness, Siraj and Akash Deep have bowled really well on a surface that hasn’t offered much.
India went with the conservative selection of Washington Sundar but will they come to regret not having Yadav on a day five pitch?
