On Day 2, two Indian batters Shubman Gill and KL Rahul recreated a rare coincidence after 61 years when they scored exactly 100 and 50 runs in an innings.Yes, you read it right! KL Rahul and Shubman Gill scored exactly 100 and 50 runs in the first innings of the 1st Test against the West Indies. Such rare instance previously took place in 1964 when ML Jaisimha and Budhi Kunderan scored 50 and 100 runs respectively against England in the second innings of a Test match in New Delhi
.Team India are in a dominant position in the ongoing Ahmedabad Test against the West Indies and have posted nearly double the runs that the visitors scored in their first innings. For those late to the story, both batters have now been dismissed as KL Rahul was dismissed by Jomel Warrican in the first over after Lunch, whereas Shubman Gill returned to the pavilion after he attempted a reverse sweep off Roston Chase’s delivery.
Shubman Gill shines on Day 2 with a stellar 50 as skipper of India in India for the first time.
Shubman Gill marked his era of captaincy in home Tests in some style as he registered his eighth half-century on Day 2 of the first match against the West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. The right-hander Shubman Gill took 91 balls to complete the milestone. He brought up his half-century by taking a single down the ground off the bowling of Khary Pierre in the 56th over of the innings.
As soon as he completed his fifty, Shubman Gill joined former India captain Sunil Gavaskar in an elusive list as he became the first Indian skipper in 47 years to hit a half-century in his first home Test as the captain.
Gavaskar had achieved the feat way back in 1978 against the West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium. The 1983 World Cup winner had gone on to eventually play a knock of 205 runs. However, Shubman Gill was unable to register a century as his innings came to a premature conclusion when he was dismissed by Roston Chase on the final delivery of the 57th over.
Shubman Gill attempted to go for a reverse sweep as Chase went around the wicket. The ball hit him on the bat sticker and as a result, it lobbed up to slip fielder Justin Greaves, who ended up taking a simple catch. This was the second time in Tests that Shubman Gill lost his wicket while trying to play a reverse sweep off the bowling of a spinner.
Shubman Gill entered the Test series against the West Indies after setting the stage on fire in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England, scoring 754 runs in five matches. He was also adjudged as India’s Player of the Series after the visitors walked away with a 2-2 result.
Shubman Gill put on 98 runs for the third wicket alongside opening batter KL Rahul. This stand helped India take the lead after the hosts bowled out West Indies for 162 in the first innings. Following his half century, Shubman Gill was well poised for his century but his uncanny dismissal on exact 50 to a reverse sweep attempted shot straight in the slips hand disappointed many and Former Indian Assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has expressed his disappointment over the same.
Abhishek Nayar shares his disappointment over Shubman Gill’s mode of dismissal on exact 50 vs WI on Day 2
Former India all-rounder Abhishek Nayar has opined that Shubman Gill would be disappointed with his mode of dismissal in the first Test against the West Indies. While observing that KL Rahul had hit a boundary with a similar shot, Nayar wondered whether the reverse sweep is among the Indian captain’s favored shots.
Shubman Gill was dismissed for a 100-ball 50 in India’s first innings of the first Test against the West Indies in Ahmedabad on Friday, October 3. The hosts ended Day 2 at 448/5, with a lead of 286 runs. During a discussion on Star Sports, Nayar reckoned that Shubman Gill would not be pleased with the way he got, questioning whether the reverse sweep is among the stylish batter’s preferred shots.
“If I wear the coach’s cap, he would definitely be disappointed with the way he got out. However, considering the way the field had been set, and when KL Rahul played that shot to get a four, you always call it a percentage shot. Is that Shubman Gill’s shot? Does he like it?” he said.
However, the former India assistant coach opined that Gill erred in execution and not in his shot selection.
“If it had gone for a four, we would have said it’s a good shot. Since he got out, it’s been asked whether he should have played it or not. As a coach, I would always say that as long as you were confident and your thought process was right, you had already scored a fifty, so it was the right time. The shot was on, but the execution wasn’t correct,” Nayar elaborated.
Shubman Gill reverse-swept a Roston Chase delivery straight to Justin Greaves at slip. Rahul had struck a four with a similar shot off the last ball of the previous over bowled by Khary Pierre. In the same discussion, Abhishek Nayar praised Shubman Gill’s strokeplay in India’s first innings.
“Usually, when you talk about Shubman Gill, you see the class, especially the control that was seen in his innings from the start. There was certainty in every shot, whether it was off the back foot or the front foot,” he said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the right-handed batter was precise in his footwork and looked confident in the middle.
“His footwork, in particular, against spin and fast bowlers was very comprehensive today, and he was looking confident,” Nayar observed.
Shubman Gill added 98 runs for the third wicket with Rahul. The latter scored 100 runs off 197 balls with the help of 12 fours. Shubman Gill scored 50 runs with the help of five boundaries and shared a valuable 98-run stand for the third wicket with KL Rahul, who went on to score a well-made century.
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