Shubman Gill silenced his critics in style as the India opener got his third Test century on Day 3 of the ongoing second Test match in Vizag on Sunday. The day started off with James Anderson dismissing Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Then, Gill started India’s fightback, although beginning his knock on a shaky note. Soon, he found his momentum and reached his hundred.
Team India ended up posting 255 in their second innings, and England reached 67/1 at Stumps in response. The visitors need 332 runs to win and are chasing a target of 399.
Lauding Gill’s knock, England legend Alastair Cook told TNT Sports, “Gill played beautifully. He has serious talent… and there was probably quite a lot of pressure on his shoulders. At the World Cup [in India], all the billboards were of Kohli, but he’s the next one they want to step into his shoes.”
“That’s a big thing to have the pressure of a country the size of India on your shoulders. As a young talent, that’s something that the likes of Tendulkar and Kohli have dealt with… and he now has to learn to deal with it,” he further added.
After Gill’s dismissal, the rest of India’s batters lost their wickets quickly. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett gave England a good start, but the latter lost his wicket to Ashwin. Crawley will resume batting with Rehan Ahmed on Day 4.
Cook also feels that even if Virat Kohli and KL Rahul return to the side, Gill will still remain in the team. “What we’ve seen today is just how talented he is, the shots he has, and we’re definitely going to see him the rest of this series. He was out of form, hadn’t scored many runs, and there’s Rahul and Kohli to come back into the side, but he’s made sure now that the selectors can’t ignore him,” he said.
India are trailing 0-1 in the ongoing five-match series, and a win will see the get back into this thrilling contest.
