INDIA'S DAZZLING START ON DAY 1 OF Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy

 India'Dazzling start On Day 1 and What's to Come 

India scored 359/3 after England put them in to bat on a green top, hoping India would cave in easily. But this Indian team, under the new captain Shubman Gill and coach Gautam Gambhir, didn’t believe in surrender. Rahul and Jaiswal played superbly for a 91-run stand—a feat no other visiting team has managed in the past 20 years on such a pitch. Then came Jaiswal’s fluent century and Gill’s magnificent unbeaten 127 at No. 4, with ample support from vice-captain Pant, ushering India to a strong total of 359/3 by stumps.

With 450–500 looking within reach—just 141 runs away—India would consider this a solid foundation. But let’s be honest, that’s still not a safe score against Bazball England, especially on this wicket. Ideally, India would like to post 650, which means 300 more runs from here.

I know that’s asking a lot from the lower order. Anything can happen in England. The Duke ball, especially the new one, swings heavily for the first 45 overs. Then it softens and becomes easier to bat. That’s why this pair—Gill and Pant—needs to survive another 45 overs, at least a session and a half. Both have achieved personal milestones and will likely push on, but they must exercise caution now as the ball is still relatively new. Any wicket here will expose the lower order to the new ball—a dangerous phase.

For India to stretch this to 650, Gill has to stay for two sessions and contribute at least another 120 runs. I can’t expect Pant to bat that long—he’s a wicketkeeper-batsman and will have a heavy workload during the bowling innings.

England, meanwhile, have already taken the second new ball late on Day 1. They’ll push hard for an early breakthrough on the second morning, hoping to bring in Karun Nair under pressure—especially since he’s getting this opportunity after 8 years. And we still don’t know how Jadeja and Shardul will support the batting.

So, from England’s point of view, they’ll be thrilled if they can get the remaining seven wickets for just 141 runs more. With their batting running deep up to No. 9, they can push for a 600+ total by Day 4, possibly gaining a lead of 100–150 runs. That would be enough to put India under pressure going into the final day.

Much now depends on Bumrah. If he doesn’t fire, the Test could drift into a draw.