The emotions associated with scoring a hundred are often of joy and contentment. Sometimes, it can be about validation and surprise but it’s almost never about nerves. It’s not what you’re expected to feel once you get past the milestone. But just a few weeks ago, Shubman Gill had a “weird” feeling even after scoring the most important hundred of his career in Visakhapatnam.
Shubman Gill would go on to explain how it was not the “outside noise” that was making him jittery but the “expectations” he had from himself. It’s a feeling most would have experienced first-hand but in Shubman Gill’s case, you could see why the feeling was exaggerated. He was, after all, the second-most experienced specialist batter in the side for India.
Shubman Gill’s ice cool innings at Ranchi helps India clinch their 17th series in row on Indian soil
You aren’t supposed to shoulder that kind of burden when you are 24 years old. Not when you are still finding your feet at the No.3 position. Certainly not in a marquee Test series against England. And surely not when your team is trailing 1-0 and up against a disruptive side that’s redefining Test cricket by the day.
But Shubman Gill, then at 21 Test caps, put in a performance beyond his years and played a crucial role in India leveling the series. He had finally done what he “expected” of himself, and it wasn’t very different to the kind of expectations that India have from themselves when playing in home conditions, and with such a proud record to defend.
Shubman Gill was right in the middle of it when India beat England in Ranchi to win their 17th successive series at home. On the spiciest pitch of the series and with young spinners having their tails up, he found a way to score in difficult conditions and roared back from another first-innings failure in style.
His contribution in a tricky run-chase of 192 in Ranchi, where he held up one end as Shoaib Bashir did what Shoaib Bashir has been doing in this Test, cannot be overstated. And you only had to look at his first-innings dismissal to get a sense of the challenge that awaited him.
For, on the second day, a ball from Bashir had hit a crack outside off-stump, spun in sharply and trapped plumb in front. It was one of the five wickets in the innings that fell to unplayable deliveries. More were expected in the fourth innings of a Test where the scores only seemed to go lower and lower.
What stood out about his game against the ilk was how patient he was ready to be. Of the 50 balls he faced from Shoaib Bashir, Gill scored a total of 32 runs but as many as 12 of them came in sixes when the target was below 20 runs. Those were the only boundaries he hit during his unbeaten innings of 52 off 124 balls. It meant he went 119 balls without scoring a single boundary, which in this frenetic era of Bazball was a total outlier.
Not that Ben Stokes didn’t try to bait him into hitting the big shots. The England captain was happy to keep the field up and ask Shubman Gill to go big against Bashir, who was operating from round-the-wicket, but that would have meant going for high-risk shots on a tricky pitch.
Shubman Gill instead was happy defending and nudging the singles when the opportunity presented itself, a ploy that Dhruv Jurel happily bought into at the other end. The pair, during their unbeaten 72-run stand, batted out a large chunk of the 31 overs that India went without a boundary, but looked at peace with how they were going about it.
England didn’t mind it of course; it meant bowling more deliveries on an unpredictable pitch, which increased their chances of bowling an unplayable ball. But Gill and Jurel showed incredible temperament, playing straight, playing patiently and affirming one of the maxims of Test cricket. That there is no one rhythm to play it. Former Indian legend now commentator Sunil Gavaskar heaped praises for the temperament shown by Shubman Gill to carry his team over the victory line.
Former Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar heaps praises on magnificent batting by Shubman Gill in the 4th innings at Ranchi.
Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar has praised Shubman Gill’s outstanding temperament in the final innings of the fourth Test against England in Ranchi.
Chasing a tricky 192 on a wearing wicket, India sunk from 84/0 to 120/5 during the second session on Day 4. However, the 24-year-old was unfazed and scored a match-winning 52* off 124 deliveries to help the side pull off a five-wicket win.
The result meant India took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-Test series with a game to spare.
Speaking to India Today after the hosts’ famous win, Gavaskar complimented Gill’s temperament and expressed his delight at seeing that attribute from the youngsters.
“To keep his cool, speaks very highly of Gill’s temperament. I have always said that it’s temperament that separates men from boys. And our youngsters are becoming men and that’s such a heartening aspect as far as Indian cricket is concerned,” said Gavaskar.
“To come out with the 2 innings that he did, particularly the innings he played today, was not easy. Ben Stokes’ field placements were outstanding. He made it look as if India were chasing 150 and not 192,” he added.
Gill stitched together an unbeaten 72-run sixth-wicket partnership with wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel to settle the Indian nerves as the latter scored the winning runs.
Gill had endured an extended rough patch in Test cricket since his century against Australia at Ahmedabad. He went 12 innings without a half-century before his 104 in the second Test in Vizag of the ongoing England series .
Everyone has high expectations from Shubman Gill exclaimed Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar felt the disappointment in Shubman Gill’s recent poor form stemmed from the high expectations set by the young batter at the beginning of his career.
The 24-year-old enjoyed a tremendous start to his Test career, scoring 259 runs in three games at an average of almost 52 in the 2020-21 tour of Australia. Gill’s ODI numbers – a stunning average of 61.37 and a strike rate of 103.46 – have further added to the lofty expectations of him.
“His performances, not just here, but when he started his international career, have been so good that everybody’s expectations were high. When that happens, people start questioning when you get a couple of low scores,” said Gavaskar.
Shubman Gill regained his best form in Tests again with the second innings century in Vizag followed by an unbeaten 91 in Rajkot before the match-winning 52* in the recently concluded Ranchi Test.
When India hit the winning runs at 1:40 pm in Ranchi and won the Test series, Gill didn’t hold back his celebrations. Batting in a skullcap, he had both his hands in the air as he completed the second run and jumped for joy. That could be as animated as he’s ever been during a Test match.
It was a stark contrast to his held-back celebration in Visakhapatnam, which was perhaps more relief than joy from a man who was as nervous then as he was at the start of his innings. But with the expectation of scoring runs and winning India the Test and the series fulfilled, especially as a No. 3 batter, Gill’s nervousness had given way to sheer joy on Monday evening.
The burden of expectation was off his shoulders, just like it’s now for India who will now move to picturesque Dharamshala with a aim to seal the series 4-1 as crucial World Test Championship (WTC) points will be at stake when both India and England will lock horns on 7th March 2024.