Ben Stokes came out to bat at No. 6 for England in the first innings of the ongoing second Test against India at Edgbaston but failed to score any runs. He, in fact, was sent back to the pavilion by Mohammed Siraj on the first ball he faced. The golden duck on Friday (July 4) was Stokes’ first first-ball dismissal in Test cricket. Since making his Test debut for the English team against Australia at Adelaide Oval on December 5, 2013, Stokes has failed to open his account 16 times in 202 innings of 113 Tests, but Friday was the first time he got out for a first-ball duck in Tests. That’s two in twoooooo…. ?#MohammedSiraj is on fire at the moment as he dismisses the English skipper, #BenStokes for a GOLDEN DUCK! 🤩🤩 ???????????? ???????????????????????????? ????????????????, ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????? ???????????? ???#ENGvIND ? 2nd TEST, Day 3 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar ➡… pic.twitter.com/lG7FoBArNx — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 4, 2025 Siraj, who is leading India’s bowling attack in the Birmingham Test in the absence of world No. 1 Test bowler Jasprit Bumrah, dismissed Joe Root for 22 runs on the third ball of the 22nd over of England’s first innings and on the next ball removed Stokes. Both Root and Stokes were caught behind by Rishabh Pant. England had high expectations from Root and Stokes on Friday, but both failed to make any significant contribution with the bat. Gill shines In the first two days of the ongoing second Test, India’s Test captain Shubman Gill made headlines for his super show with the bat. Gill, after coming out to bat at No. 4 for Wednesday (July 2), scored 269 runs from 387 balls. He hammered 30 fours and 3 sixes during his stay at the crease and helped India post a total of 587 runs in the first innings. The 269-run knock in the first innings helped Gill become the first Indian captain to score a double century in SENA countries, and he also broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record of the highest score by an Indian batter in SENA countries. During the 2004 Sydney Test between India and Australia, Tendulkar remained unbeaten on 241 runs in the first innings. During his 269-run knock, Gill also broke Virat Kohli’s record of highest score (254 vs. South Africa in October 2019) by an Indian captain in Test cricket. For India, apart from Gill, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja impressed with their batting in the first innings. While Jaiswal scored 87 runs from 107 balls, Jadeja smacked 89 runs from 137 balls and added 203 runs for the sixth wicket with Gill.