The China Mail - Three things we learned from the second England-India Test

Shubman Gill, in just his second Test as India captain, led from the front with innings of 269 and 161 as the tourists levelled a five-match series at 1-1.

Below AFP Sport looks at three talking points that emerged from a ruthless performance by India.

Run-hungry Gill does it again

Captaincy can be either a boost or a burden to a player's career but, right now, it's pretty apparent what it is doing for Shubman Gill.

The 25-year-old arrived in England with a Test average of under 36.

Yet in just two matches this series he has scored 585 runs at a colossal average of 146.25 after his 147 in the opening match at Headingley.

And at Edgbaston he became the first batsman in 148 years of Test cricket to make scores of 250 and 150 in the same match.

It wasn't just Gill's sheer volume of runs that impressed shrewd judges, however.

In the first innings, Gill batted for some eight-and-a-half hours to build an all-but impregnable position for India with a majestic display of classical stroke-play, particularly through the offside.

Yet in the second, with India in search of quick runs ahead of a declaration, Gill struck several audacious shots worthy of dynamic team-mate Rishabh Pant in a 161 that took him a mere 162 balls.

"Just as incredible as the numbers are his (Gill's) concentration levels," wrote former England captain Nasser Hussain in his Daily Mail column.

"Yes, the pitches at Headingley and Edgbaston have both been good for batting, but you still need focus. Look at England's top order, who have been unable to match him...By way of a serious bonus, he has elegance too."

India catch up in the field

Gill's efforts could have been undone had India fielded as badly as they did during a five-wicket loss in the series opener at Headingley.

Yet they were far sharper at Edgbaston, with Gill -- despite a marathon batting stint -- holding a superb slip catch to dismiss England opener Ben Duckett for a duck as the recalled Akash Deep took the first of his 10 wickets in the match.

Gill's example proved infectious, with Mohammed Siraj clutching a superb one-handed catch after diving full-length at midwicket to dismiss England tailender Josh Tongue as India closed in on victory.

Bashir leaves England in a spin

Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir finished with unwanted match figures of 5-286 at Edgbaston -- the most expensive for England since 1950 and the third-most costly in the team's Test history.

Picked on potential after a handful of first-class matches, and now struggling to get a game with county side Somerset, the 21-year-old impressed the England hierarchy with a high-release point indicative of an ability to get turn and bounce.

But six of his eight wickets in this series have come via catches in the deep, with the others a stumping of a tail-end batsman and a skyed slog he caught himself.

England captain Ben Stokes has long championed Bashir's ability, but he would welcome a few top-order wickets from his frontline spinner in next week's third Test at Lord's.

J.Thompson--ThChM