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Shubman Gill in practice session (PC: Debasis Sen) Rohan Chowdhury, Birmingham After a last-day defeat by five wickets in the first Test at Headingley, the Indian cricket team is set to begin their second game at Edgbaston on Wednesday, July 2. On Monday, June 30, both teams had intense practice sessions at the ground—India had the morning session while England trained in the afternoon, a routine-matchday minus-two schedule for home and away teams. This report focuses primarily on Indian skipper Shubman Gill. After scoring a brilliant 147 in the first innings at Headingley, Gill was dismissed for just eight in the second innings, chopping a Brydon Carse delivery via an inside edge. The Edgbaston practice began with warm-up drills and lighthearted sessions, followed by fielding drills. Gill took his position at third slip, where he was briefly seen taking a blow to his fingers, though it didn’t appear to be serious. During the batting nets, divided into three phases—throwdowns, ...

Will India rest Bumrah? PC – RevSportz. Subhayan Chakraborty in Birmingham  India are yet to announce their squad for the upcoming Test, likely holding off until the toss to finalise their decision on Jasprit Bumrah. The top-ranked fast bowler is expected to sit out this match, with indications suggesting he may only feature in three of the five Tests in the series.  The visitors are poised to make additional tweaks to their lineup. Nitish Kumar Reddy could be brought in to strengthen the batting, while Akash Deep is a likely replacement for Bumrah. Additionally, India might opt for all-rounder Washington Sundar in place of Shardul Thakur to add another spin option with Kuldeep Yadav set to warm the bench yet again. It remains to be seen whether Arshdeep Singh gets his maiden Test cap or not.  “Bumrah is ready to play if needed,” said assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate. “We’re weighing our options for these four Tests, considering factors like weather and pitch con...

Rishabh Pant and Boria Majumdar at Edgbaston (Image: Debasis Sen) Boria Majumdar in Birmingham Rishabh Pant was the star for India in the first Test at Headingley. Hundreds in both innings of a Test match on English soil is a very rare achievement. No Indian keeper has been there and chances are it won’t happen again very soon. Add keeping wickets for 182 overs and you understand the magnitude of his achievement. When you add the medical miracle he has been through a year earlier, you realise why he is a generational talent. Rishabh has been someone I have always had time for. Over the years I have seen him evolve as a very good red-ball player, perhaps one of the best India currently have. In all of this, his humility has stayed the same. He is one of the warmest cricketers going around and is an extremely good human being. Having had a close shave with death, he knows how fickle life can be and has emerged a better person in the process. Yesterday, while all of his teammates h...

England Women vs India Women, T20I (PC: England Cricket) England Women suffered a crushing 97-run defeat against India in the first T20I of the ongoing five-match series. It was their biggest loss in T20I history. India posted a massive total of 210 runs. In reply, England were bowled out for just 113. The performance left fans and experts shocked. Speaking on Sky Sports Cricket, England batter Lauren Winfield-Hill shared her thoughts on the defeat. She felt England lost their grip in the first half of the match. “It felt like England lost control in the first innings. England didn’t get their bowling matchups right. Bell bowled and went at five an over, and we didn’t see her until the death,” she said. Winfield-Hill felt that England missed a key chance by not using Lauren Bell earlier in the innings. “It felt like she was the one who could have come into the game earlier and removed Mandhana, especially with Harmanpreet Kaur [India’s captain who was rested after a head injury] ...

Steve Smith (PC: X) Steve Smith, who suffered a compound fracture during the World Test Championship final at Lord’s against South Africa, is likely to return for the second Test against the West Indies, currently underway in the Caribbean. Australian head coach Andrew McDonald has expressed optimism about Smith’s availability and expects him to resume his role at No. 4 in the batting order. If Smith returns, Josh Inglis is expected to make way. “It’s really about functionality around the finger rather than anything else. There’ll be no risk to the long-term health of that finger. He’ll return, and I think it’s likely he’ll play. Leading into the next game, he’ll have the main session two days out,” McDonald said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “We want to keep him at four” – McDonald on Smith The Australian coach also addressed questions about Smith’s position in the batting order. While acknowledging that Smith has performed well at No. 3 in the past, McDonald made it clear that t...

Smith missed out against West Indies in the first Test due to an injury. (PC: X/cricket.com.au) Australia’s Test vice-captain Steve Smith is on track to feature in the second Test of the ongoing series against the West Indies in Grenada. Captain Pat Cummins confirmed that Smith has resumed batting practice after dislocating his finger during the World Test Championship (WTC) Final. After the final, Smith returned to his home in New York to continue rehabilitation. Cummins revealed that Smith had begun light training, picking up a bat several times to get accustomed to the protective split he must wear on his right little finger for eight weeks due to the compound dislocation. If declared fit, Smith is expected to return at number four, likely replacing either Cameron Green—who has scored just 3, 15, 4, and 0 in recent outings—or Josh Inglis, who was dismissed for 5 and 12 in the Barbados Test. “He’s had a few hits over in New York, which I think was with a tennis ball and an Inc...

Corbin Bosch made his maiden Test century against Zimbabwe (PC: X/@ProteasMenCSA) Seam-bowling all-rounder Corbin Bosch played a superb innings on Day 1 of the first Test between South Africa and Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. The 24-year-old scored a brilliant unbeaten 100, helping South Africa finish the day with a strong total of 418/9 after 90 overs. Coming in to bat with South Africa at 289/7, Bosch showed great patience and composure. The right-handed batter took his time early on before gradually building his innings. He faced 124 balls, struck 10 boundaries, and scored at a strike rate of 80.64, playing intelligent cricket throughout. This was his maiden Test century and came at a crucial moment for his side. Bosch shared important partnerships with Keshav Maharaj (21), Codi Yusuf (27), and Kwena Maphaka (9*), which significantly contributed to South Africa’s lower-order resilience. His calm and measured approach gave the team a much-needed boost after early setbacks. Pretorius S...

ENG-W vs IND-W, 1st T20I (PC: BCCI Women) India Women began their England tour with a dominating 97-run win in the first of the five-game T20I series in Nottingham. They posted a huge 210/5, thanks to a brilliant 112-run knock from stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana. The Indian bowlers then put in a strong performance and bowled out the home side for just 113. On the eve of the match, Mandhana, at the pre-match press conference, said that regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur had missed practice but was likely to be available for selection. However, at the toss, Mandhana walked out as captain, and the BCCI later confirmed that Harmanpreet had been rested. The official statement said she was recovering from a head injury sustained during the warm-up match against the ECB Development Women’s XI. Mandhana added that she is hopeful Harmanpreet would be fit in a few days. England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and chose to bowl, but the decision didn’t work well. Shafali Verma had a d...

Kuldeep Yadav. Image Twitter/X Subhayan Chakraborty in Birmingham When Shoaib Bashir and Ravindra Jadeja extracted significant turn on the Headingley pitch during days 4 and 5 of the first Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, one question dominated discussions: “Where is Kuldeep Yadav?” As India’s Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur leaked runs at economy rates of over six and five, and Jadeja conceded 100 runs in the fourth innings – a career first – Kuldeep’s absence was keenly felt. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley helped comfortably chase down the mammoth 371-run target, supported by Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Jamie Smith. When India began their first net session in Birmingham on Friday, following a couple of relaxed days filled with team-bonding activities like paintball, all eyes were on the nets at the far left, where Kuldeep, Jadeja, and Washington Sundar were bowling. Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharshan, Karun Nair and Shubman Gill faced the spin trio, bu...

Smriti and Shafali will open in the first T20I. (PC: ACC) India Women’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana is eager to reunite with opening partner Shafali Verma, who is set to return to the T20I format in the upcoming five-match series against England starting June 28. Shafali, who was left out following India’s early exit from the T20 World Cup last year and a lean ODI series against New Zealand, has earned her place back with a prolific run in domestic cricket and the Women’s Premier League. Leading from the front for Haryana, Shafali topped the charts in both the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy (527 runs at a strike rate of 152.31 and average of 75.29) and the One-Day Challenger Trophy (414 runs at 145.26 strike rate and 82.80 average). She also finished fourth in the WPL 2025 run charts, scoring 304 runs for Delhi Capitals. Shafali deserves this comeback: Smriti “She’s had an amazing year,” Smriti said of Shafali. “Once the setback had come, she went to domestic cricket, scored bu...

Indian Women’s Cricket Team in Nottingham. Image: Debasis Sen Trisha Ghosal in Nottingham   The dress rehearsal for the T20 World Cup 2026 will commence this evening. India’s women’s team will take on hosts England in a five-match T20I series. India haven’t played a T20I series since December last year. England, on the other hand, are in a rebuilding phase, with Charlotte Edwards and Nat Sciver-Brunt having taken the reins after a shambolic 16-0 loss in the Ashes. This T20I series will be important for both teams—even in an ODI World Cup year.   Players to Watch Out For   Shafali Verma Shafali Verma doesn’t carry fond memories of England. It was here that her weakness against the short ball was exposed and repeatedly targeted by Katherine Brunt. She’s now making a comeback and would want to utilise the hard yards put in during the domestic season to push for a place in the ODI side too. At the nets yesterday, Shafali had an extended session, facing mostly short...