Birmingham, July 3 -- Following a dominant first session by India on the second day of the Birmingham Test, former England pacer Stuart Broad lamented how the surface failed to help England bowlers and lauded the visitors for their "beautiful" batting.

A 203-run stand between skipper Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja, the latter missing out on a fifth Test ton, put England on the backfoot as India crossed the 400-run mark and went beyond it at first session end.

Speaking on air as quoted by Sky Sports, Broad said that England must have thought of getting two wickets in the first hour and getting to bat by lunch.

"But the surface did not help, and India batted beautifully, latching onto anything loose."

"The only threat came when Englan...