India dig Deep to crush England and reward Gill's eruption of runs

Win the toss, bowl first and trust the surface to hold firm for the chase. The tactic has served Ben Stokes pretty well these past three years, but here it blew up in his face. Instead, Shubman Gill was the captain being showered with praise at the end, his first victory in the job levelling this series at one-all courtesy of a 336-run thumping.

- Ali Martin

That toss? Hindsight tells us it was clearly a poor choice, even if Gill would have done the same. But India's first win at Edgbaston at the 19th attempt was ultimately decided by the visitors outperforming their hosts in pretty much every department across the five days. And as England subsided to 271 all out in 68.1 overs, after being set an unlikely 608 to win the day before, the chief disparity was very much highlighted.

Gill's remarkable eruption of 430 runs - scores of 269 and 161 - was bona fide hall of fame stuff from the 25-year-old; confirmation that the sacred No 4 spot previously occupied by Virat Kohli is in good hands. But without the bowling to claim 20 wickets, it would have been a personal feat alone. And on that score, despite the unyielding pitch that served as the canvas for his own magnificence, Gill had the tools at his disposal.

Rewind to the start and eyebrows were understandably raised over India's decision to rest Jasprit Bumrah at 1-0 down. And yet in the absence of the world's No 1 bowler others stepped up. Mohammed Siraj claimed six for 70 in England's sub-par first innings, while Akash Deep, Bumrah's replacement, took six for 99 in their second to finish with 10 in the match. England's four quicks mustered just nine between them.