While usually filed during the lunch break in the UK, this concluding edition of #MidMatchMemo looks at the full arc of the 2nd Test — and what it means for the series ahead.

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AT THE STROKE OF Washington Sundar's dismissal of England captain Ben Stokes on the final day of the Edgbaston Test made him the first Indian bowler to take a wicket in this game that wasn't Akash Deep or Mohammed Siraj. The opening pair had been so effective with the new (or new-ish) ball up to that point that Siraj finished the game with seven wickets and Akash Deep with ten. Towards the conclusion of the game, Ravindra Jadeja and Prasidh Krishna also joined in the festivities by each taking a wicket.

In the end, India had set a target that was far out of reach of England's vaunted chase skills, and the tourists pulled off a historic victory by 336 runs. The hosts will have a lot to consider, notably the fact that the batting was a huge disappointment this time around. After all, when you take out Jamie Smith and Harry Brook along with their combined 453 runs from the equation, it indicates that the remaining batters only managed to score an average of 14 runs every time they went out to bat. Here are five important topics from the second Test, which had the series enticingly tied at 1-1.

Shubman Gill's dominance: The skipper broke several records when he accumulated 430 (269 and 161) over the two innings. His first innings score was the greatest ever achieved by an Indian captain in Test match cricket for men. Additionally, he broke Sunil Gavaskar's 54-year-old mark for the most runs scored by an Indian batsman in a Test. With the addition of his accomplishments at Headingley (a total of 155 runs), Gill now has 585 runs in the series. He is well on his way to surpass Sir Donald Bradman's record series total of 974 runs against England in 1930 if he continues at this rate. And last but not least, in the last two games, he has scored more than 20% of his career total of 2,478 runs throughout 34 tests. Although it is still early days for Gill the captain (a position he has just won his first Test in), it is fair to say that the additional responsibility has not yet had an impact on his hitting.

Playing it too safe?: With the match concluded and the result written in the books, it’s a good time for reflection, and one of the biggest points to ponder is: Did Gill leave the declaration too late? Coming as it did late on the fourth day (with rain on the cards for the fifth), did the captain really need to set the hosts a 600-plus target? Given the relative ease with which England chased down 371 in the Headingley Test, a bit of conservatism (in terms of setting a target) was always expected. But India just might have overdone it, and had rain played spoilsport on the final day, Gill and Co would’ve been forced to settle for a draw and wonder what might have been. As it turned out, they were spared that disappointment thanks to Akash Deep’s heroics.

Bumrah and who?: That Jasprit Bumrah will be managing his workload (and playing three of the five Tests) during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy was known even before the players arrived on British shores. That he would pick the second Test with India 1-0 down in the rubber was far less known. The decision expectedly came under fire from a variety of pundits and commentators. Five days later and with the benefit of hindsight, the call seems far less worrying, and there are two reasons why. Siraj and Akash Deep. The pair claimed 17 of the 20 English wickets to fall in the second Test, bowling with speed, accuracy and perseverance. Somewhere, Mohammad Kaif will be eating his words.

Breaking the Birmingham hoodoo: As commentators and analysts have frequently reminded us over the past five days, a solitary draw is all India had to show thus far for their visits to Edgbaston. The other seven matches had ended in defeats. Sunday, the sixth day of July 2025, marked the first time the visitors tasted victory at Edgbaston. The win also made Gill’s team the first from Asia to triumph at this venue (among Test-playing nations, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have yet to play here).

All eyes on Lord’s: Neither team has very long to dwell on the result with action resuming in four short days at Lord’s. The match is almost certain to feature a revitalised Bumrah, who will strengthen an Indian pace attack that is already running hot. His return will mean either Krishna or Nitish Kumar Reddy will sit out the game. The latter scenario will give the visitors a rather long tail, but a greater variety of quick bowlers — something that could prove useful against a solid English batting lineup. Elsewhere, the Indian brains trust will also have to mull over whether Karun Nair retains the number 3 slot or Sai Sudharsan is reinstated. In the home camp, speedster Jofra Archer seems set to return to the England Test team after over four years. According to data, over 88% of wickets that have fallen at the ‘home of cricket’ since 2022 have been claimed by quick bowlers, and it would be no surprise to see Archer replacing off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in the XI. How it all shakes out though remains to be seen. Fortunately, there isn’t long to go until we find out.
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