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India National Cricket Team vs England Cricket Team Match Scorecard: Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Shubman Gill emphatically signaled their readiness to lead India's batting charge into the post-Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma era. Both batsmen struck magnificent centuries, guiding the visitors to a commanding 359 for three against a struggling England on the opening day of the first Test here on Friday.

Gill, unbeaten on 127, and Jaiswal, who scored 101 off 159 balls, forged a crucial 129-run partnership for the third wicket. This determined stand propelled India from a slightly precarious position of 92 for two, following the quick dismissals of KL Rahul (42) and debutant B Sai Sudharsan (0). At the close of play, Rishabh Pant, batting on 65, was providing solid support to Gill.

Beyond simply giving India a significant head start on day one of the newly inaugurated Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series, the centuries from Jaiswal and Gill carried an underlying significance, showcasing the potential of India's next generation of batting talent.

This Indian batting line-up is a tad thin on experience after the recent retirements of former skippers Kohli and Rohit, who played at the pivotal No. 4 and opening slots in their illustrious careers.

Both Jaiswal and Gill are not newcomers to the unforgiving Test arena, but there has been this widespread anxiety over how the 'New Gen' India stars would step into the big shoes of their predecessors.

But the portends are quite bright, if the day's innings by Jaiswal and Gill are anything to go by.

Jaiswal was the first to reach the three-figure mark, the fifth in his flourishing career, off 144 balls and Gill reached his own landmark off 140 balls in the final passage of the day, heralding the start of a new era in Indian cricket.

But the way they reached that point was entirely different. Jaiswal eschewed his natural flair as the first session offered its own share of assistance to the English bowlers in the shape of movement and carry.

However, it was an altogether different matter that the home bowlers were not prudent enough to exploit that offering, and later the pitch eased up considerably.

But a flaccid track and a fangless England attack without James Anderson or Stuart Broad could not take the sheen out of the knocks of Jaiswal and Gill.

It was not a typical Jaiswal innings where he simply flayed the bowlers around, but he showed admirable self-restraint, particularly outside the off-stump.

The left-hander was dismissed in that channel a couple of times while playing for India A against the England Lions in the recent tour matches, but here the 23-year-old did not repeat his mistakes.

Jaiswal began the morning session with a gorgeous drive through mid-off off pacer Chris Woakes, and he only grew in confidence from there.

Perhaps, the only time he showed his aggressive mindset was when the left-hander carted pacer Josh Tongue for a six and then later hammered him for two consecutive fours to reach 99.

It was Jaiswal's first innings in England, and he made it memorable, making a hundred soon after scampering for a single despite suffering some cramps on his hands.

He celebrated with gusto too — a roar and leap into the Headingley sky. England could not be blamed for imagining the Indian batter repeating his 712-run effort he managed last year during a home series.

If Jaiswal's innings was more about adaptation, Gill's knock was all about following his natural batting doctrine, which has its fundamentals in timing and elegance.

The right-hander played shots with minimum follow-through through on-side and with a flourish on the off-side.

The 25-year-old's languid grace wowed the crowd when he essayed an off-drive off Chris Woakes and followed it up with a dreamy clip off the pads for a four as currently England's second most experienced Test bowler went for nearly five runs an over across the first two sessions.

Once he went past the fifty off just 56 balls, Gill slowed down a touch, and nerves grew once he went past 90.

There was a cheeky uppish shot through the gully of Tongue and a full-stretched dive saved him from a potentially close run out.

But Gill did not want to let go of the opportunity to score a hundred in his first innings as India's Test captain.

He brought up that mark with a sumptuous boundary off Tongue, getting a standing ovation from everyone.

Gill also joined a very exclusive club of Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Virat Kohli as the Indian batters with hundreds on their captaincy debut.

However, the blooming alliance ended when the giant-hearted England skipper Ben Stokes produced a peach to rattle the stumps of Jaiswal immediately after tea.

Gill carried on nevertheless in the company of his adventurous deputy Pant, who in the process of making his 16th Test fifty completed 3000 runs in the format.

Inputs from PTI