Birmingham, July 5 (NationPress) England has been challenged with an enormous target of 608 runs to secure a victory in the second Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series. This came after India’s captain, Shubman Gill, showcased an incredible performance, scoring 161 runs off 162 balls, prompting the visitors to declare their second innings at 427/6 after 83 overs at Edgbaston on Saturday.

Gill once again demonstrated his class with a splendid exhibition of strokeplay, hitting 13 fours and 8 sixes. This innings marked his eighth Test century, with five of them against England, and it was his third hundred in just four innings as India's Test captain. With a total of 430 runs in the match, Gill has now become the second-highest run-scorer in a single Test, following England’s Graham Gooch who scored 456 runs. Moreover, he is the first cricketer to achieve scores of 200 and 150 in the same Test.

Supporting Gill were notable contributions from KL Rahul (55), Rishabh Pant (65), and Ravindra Jadeja (69 not out), creating a daunting chase for England that seems significantly more challenging than their usual Bazball approach. The final session commenced with Jadeja hitting Shoaib Bashir for a six right on his first delivery.

Gill maintained his scoring prowess by striking Chris Woakes for a six and two boundaries, while he and Jadeja both managed to hit Bashir for a four. Jadeja skillfully cut Joe Root for another four, completing his second half-century of the match in just 94 balls.

After Jadeja hit Gill for a four, Gill responded by slog-sweeping Joe Root for successive sixes, and then effortlessly cleared the mid-off fielder for another four. He reached his 150 with a perfectly executed slog-sweep off Root, before Ollie Pope misjudged a top-edge, allowing Gill to add another boundary.

Gill then struck Bashir over midwicket for a six, but his next attempt for another maximum resulted in a mistimed shot back to the bowler, exiting to a standing ovation for his remarkable 161 runs.

After Nitish Kumar Reddy was dismissed by Root, Washington Sundar hit a four and a six against the part-timer before India declared, ready to challenge a fatigued England side.

Brief scores:

India: 587 and 427/6 dec in 83 overs (Shubman Gill 161, Rishabh Pant 65, KL Rahul 55, Ravindra Jadeja 69 not out; Josh Tongue 2-93, Shoaib Bashir 2-119) lead England by 484 runs.