Shubman Gill dropped the catch of Ollie Pope in the first session of the 3rd India vs England Test at Lord’s on Thursday. It was just a blip in an otherwise astute captaincy by the 25-year-old Shubman Gill. In fact, after quite a few overs of toil by Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, where England batters were lucky to survive despite multiple chances, Shubman Gill produced a tactical master-stroke. He brought in batting allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and it did wonders.
India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy struck twice in an eventful over to leave England at 83 for two at lunch on day one of the Lord’s Test on Thursday. The trio of Bumrah, Akash Deep and Mohamed Siraj did ask a few questions but England opening duo of Ben Duckett (23 off 40) and Zak Crawley (18 off 43) survived the first hour of play, reaching 39 for no loss in 13 overs.
Due to the unique slope, the Indian bowlers understandably took some time to get used to the up and down nature of the ground while running in. Bumrah bowled from both Pavillion End and Nursery End while Akash Deep, who took a match haul of 10 at Edgbaston, bowled with the new ball from Nursery End.
Captain Shubman Gill could have brought back Akash Deep after the first hour, instead he gave the ball to Reddy from the Nursery End and he did not disappoint. The first breakthrough was a rather lucky one with Duckett gloving a short ball on the leg side to wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant.
Ollie Pope could have been dismissed in the very next ball but Shubman Gill could not latch on to a tough chance at gully.The last ball of the over produced the wicket of Crawley. It was a beauty that seamed away from length, inducing an outside edge on the way to the keeper. Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has slammed skipper Shubman Gill for a tactical error that caused Nitish Kumar Reddy who could have have 3 wickets in a dream over.
Shubman Gill at gully should have been closer- Mohammed Kaif
Legendary Indian fielder Mohammed Kaif has slammed reigning skipper Shubman Gill for his tactical fielding mistake on Day 1 of the Third Test against England at Lord’s on Thursday, July 10. The cricketer-turned-commentator schooled Indian skipper Shubman Gill for his poor field placement as Ollie Pope survived on a Golden Duck. He pointed out Shubman Gill should have stood forward owing to the lack of pace from Nitish Kumar Reddy.
The incident took place in the 14th over of the England’s first innings. Reddy bowled a fuller-length ball outside off, and swung it away late.Ollie Pope, facing his first ball of the innings ,threw his bat at the ball, and it fell few inches short of Gill, who failed to hold on to the catch. Mohammed Kaif wrote on X :
“Shubman at gully should have been closer. At Nitish Reddy’s pace the ball wouldn’t carry that far. Cricket is a game of small margins and sharp thinking. Ollie Pope would have gone for a duck,”
Ollie Pope receiving a repreive shared a 109 runs partnership with Joe Root to recover England from 44/2. The right-hander scored 44 of 104 balls comprising four boundaries. He was eventually caught behind by substitute wicket keeper Dhruv Jurel off Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling immediately after the Tea Break.
Earlier in the day, cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar also rang the iconic Lord’s bell for the first time in his career. The bell ringing marked the start of play in the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy; the series is currently level at 1-1.
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