It was a combination of a flat pitch and poor tactics by India that allowed England to get away after the hosts were in a tight corner when Mohammed Siraj had claimed Joe Root and Ben Stokes off successive deliveries first thing on the third morning of the second Test at Edgbaston on Friday. That led to an animated debate in the media box about whether India should enforce the follow-on. But all that talk became meaningless after a couple of hours of brilliant batting by the English duo of Jamie Smith and Harry Brook.

Brook’s talent is well known, having scored a triple century in Pakistan recently, but it was wicketkeeper Smith, who was the surprise element. Though he had played a good hand when England chased down a big target in the first Test at Headingley, there were doubts whether he would be able to handle the intense pressure England were under as pacers Siraj and Akash Deep were breathing down their necks. 

However, as India failed to get another breakthrough, captain Shubman Gill went on the defensive, having only one slip and a gully and placing three fielders on the leg-side boundary. He also asked Prasidh Krishna to bounce out Smith, who instead took the bowling and put India on the back foot. As the ball got older, the batters gained in confidence. Runs flowed at a rapid pace as India conceded 172 runs in the morning session. That was the third-highest ever conceded by India in the opening session, following 231 on the fourth day against Australia in 2015 and 176 on the second day at Rajkot against England in 2024.