India batter Shubman Gill scored a gritty century in Vizag on Day 3 of the Test match. Batting in the second innings, Shubman Gill‘s century rescued India after the openers fell cheaply early on Sunday morning. Gill was lucky in the early part of his innings when two DRS calls for LBW went in his favour. Gill was also lucky when Joe Root – standing at wide first slip – was not able to grab a simple outside edge offered by the batter.
After spending the morning session on Sunday with patience, Gill took an aggressive route after lunch. The batter smashed the England spinners, hitting 11 boundaries and 2 sixes putting India in command. Shubman was dismissed on 104 runs off just 147 balls guiding India to a massive lead of 398 runs. Speaking via a Board of Control for Cricket video Gill agreed that he was lucky in the first part of his innings.
Shubman Gill’s grinded his way to a magnificent 104 in the second innings.
Tough and tricky periods serve as a test of character and resilience. Shubman Gill has cleared that test, and in flying colors.
Unlike Shreyas Iyer, who finds himself in a dicey situation in terms of his selection for the remainder of the series after wasting yet another opportunity, Gill, for the time being, seems to have done enough to keep his doubters and critics quiet. He showed the grit and patience required to weather an early James Anderson storm on Sunday morning, gradually got into his groove and reached three figures for the third time in the longest format. That enabled India to set England a stiff 399-run target in the second Test at the ACA-VDCA Stadium.
His celebration after bringing up his century — the first batting at No.3 and after a no-show in 13 innings on the trot which questioned his place in the squad — was quite simple and mellow compared to that of Yashaswi Jaiswal, the first innings double centurion. When a single off leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed took him to the landmark, Gill, with his father Lakhwinder Singh clapping from the BCCI box on the stadium premises, just raised his bat, taking off the helmet with an expression of relief writ large on his face.
“Staying true” to his style of playing helped Gill wade through the tough period in his Test career. “Sometimes, if you get over-defensive or over-aggressive or try to be someone you are not, then you are prolonging those innings.
Precisely, this 104-run knock was as important as Jaiswal’s 209 in the first innings because India, barring the two crucial partnerships of 81 and 89 Gill stitched with Iyer and Axar Patel, respectively, kept losing wickets at regular intervals before folding for 255 in their second innings. That, even after India were cruising at 211/4 when Gill and Axar had absolutely no problem in dealing with Rehan, left-armer Tom Hartley and rookie off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.
A stroke of fortune early in his innings certainly helped Gill. After Anderson castled captain Rohit Sharma and induced an edge off Jaiswal, India could easily have been 31/3 had the DRS not spotted a faint inner edge off his bat when Gill was adjudged lbw by the on-field umpire off Tom Hartley. He was on 4 then. Soon after, the umpire’s call came to Gill’s rescue when Anderson shaped one in to hit his front knee. Minutes later, Zak Crawley was late to react at slip when Gill edged one with Hartley again being the unlucky bowler.
Stroke of luck aside, Gill needs to be lauded for quickly putting those close shaves out of his mind, looking determined to remain steady against the Anderson test and latching onto anything ill-directed from the English spin trio with his footwork close to being spot-on.
Coming in at No.3 since the West Indies tour last July, Gill just wasn’t able to get a 50-plus score even if he had a decent start. He even had to hear being given “extra cushion” at No.3. But before he was cornered, Gill brought his A-game into play, something that bodes well for Team India for the remainder of the series.
This innings however a lifeline for Gill has garnered praises from the experts all around and Former Indian cricketer now commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has showered praises on the young Indian batter.
Once Shubman Gill got to his 50 he was thinking big- Sanjay Manjrekar
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar praised Shubman Gill for his century under pressure on Day 3 of the second Test against England in Vizag.
Despite being among the best white-ball batters over the last year, Gill endured a torrid time with the bat in the red-ball format. With not a single half-century in 11 completed innings since the 128 against Australia last year, Gill’s place in the Test side was hanging by a thread. Yet, the stylish batter overcame early jitters to complete his third Test ton and propel India into a dominant position.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo at stumps on Day 3, Manjrekar was impressed by Gill’s ability to not relax after scoring a potentially career-saving half-century and converting it into a three-figure score [0:21].
“What’s impressive about Gill was the fact that once he got to his 50 he was thinking big. When you are out of form and actually looking at your place being in doubt for the next Test with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul likely to comeback that fear is always there. And once you get a 50, there is a feeling ‘ I may play the next match, I’ve saved my career’ for the moment. And you might just relax a bit,” said Sanjay Manjrekar.
With scores of 23,0 and 34 so far in the previous three innings of the series, Gill’s place in the side was uncertain for the next match. Yet, his game-changing knock helped India get into a solid position to level the series, setting England a mammoth target of 399 in their fourth innings.
Shubman’s Gill innings a necessity for India after early wicket loss exclaims Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar continued to praise Shubman Gill by calling his second-inning century invaluable to India’s cause.
Gill was the only batter in the side’s second innings to score even a half-century, with Axar Patel’s 45 being the second-highest.
“He went on and scored a very controlled 100 and that is why we have all been excited with Gill that once he got a 50 he made that count. India needed somebody to get a big score and he did. England bowling was not going to be a challenge for Gill. Starting off has been a problem for him whether it was in South Africa or against the English spinners. And he needed a little bit of luck with that leg before,” said Manjrekar
Gill survived a couple of touch-and-go LBW decisions early in his innings off Tom Hartley and James Anderson before settling into his innings.
Despite his heroics, England are still in the contest, needing another 332 runs with nine wickets in hand to take a 2-0 series lead. However India would like to see the back of England and take 1-1 draw when they head to Rajkot for 3rd test.