England's Chris Woakes has expressed his frustration with the close calls that went against him and his team on the opening day of the second Test against India at Edgbaston. Despite Woakes' impressive performance, India ended the day in a strong position at 310-5, led by a masterful unbeaten century from captain Shubman Gill.

Woakes, who was the pick of the England attack with two wickets for 59 runs, felt that the day could have been very different if a couple of early decisions had gone their way. He lamented the missed opportunities, saying that if those decisions had favored England, India could have been 30-3, which would have drastically changed the course of the day.

Specifically, Woakes was referring to two LBW shouts that didn't go England's way. Yashasvi Jaiswal survived an LBW appeal when the umpire's call indicated the ball was just clipping the top of the off-stump. Shortly after, Karun Nair also survived an LBW shout after being struck on the pads while offering no shot. Jaiswal went on to score a fluent 87, while Nair made 31.

Woakes acknowledged his frustration with these decisions, recognizing they could have gone either way. However, he accepted that such instances are part of the game, and it's important to move on. Despite the frustrating close calls, Woakes emphasized that there was enough in the pitch to trouble the Indian batsmen. He believes that if England can break the 99-run partnership between Gill and Ravindra Jadeja early on Day 2, they will be right back in the contest.

England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bowl first, a tactic he repeated from the previous match. Woakes explained the rationale behind this decision, stating that the team saw a bit of grass on the wicket and believed it would offer some assistance to the bowlers. Stokes has opted to bowl first for the 10th time in 11 home toss wins.

Despite the challenging day, Woakes lauded Shubman Gill's performance, acknowledging the Indian captain's impressive century. He noted that Gill played very well for his team, managing to absorb pressure and then capitalize. Gill's unbeaten 114, along with a fluent 87 from Yashasvi Jaiswal and an unbroken 99-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja, helped India recover from a precarious position at 211-5.

Woakes remains optimistic about England's chances in the Test match. He believes the team has the ability to bounce back and put pressure on India. He also added that 300/7 would have been a great day on a very good batting surface.