Dream start: Tons of joy for India

Captain Gill & opener Jaiswal slam centuries as visitors make English bowlers toil on Day 1 of the first Test in Leeds

- FIROZ MIRZA @Chennai

EVER since Shubman Gill was made Test captain after retirements of veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, all talk have been about the Indian team ushering in a new era in the longest format of the game.

Given the tough task at hand in the form of a five-match Test series in England, it was obvious to cast doubts on the youngsters' potential, especially in tough English conditions where even the best failed to meet expectations.

Past performances there only added weights to the talk as India touched the English shores.

All those doubts, however, gave way to a new hope as the 25-year-old Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal slammed centuries each on Day 1 of the first Test in Leeds, Headingley on Friday to guide India to a commanding position against hosts England.

While the hundred is a big relief for the Indian skipper given his shows overseas (the latest century was his only second away from home with the first one coming against Bangladesh), Jaiswal's ton on his maiden Test outing in England yet again cemented his growing stature in red-ball cricket (he scored 161 in the second innings of his first match on Australian soil before this).

Early this year, India lost a five-match Test series Down Under 1-3, handing over the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia after retaining it for more than nine years.

One reason for the loss was a middling show by established Indian batters, including Kohli and Sharma.

Amid the ruins, Jaiswal, however, stood tall scoring 391 runs, including a hundred.