Young batter Shubman Gill rose to the occasion on Day 3 of the second Test against England, scoring his third century in the longest format of the game to put India in the driving seat in Vizag. Gill’s century will silent critics for a while as the top-order batter had come under extreme pressure to deliver, owing to a string of poor performances. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri had even warned Gill about the situation, saying someone like Cheteshwar Pujara is waiting for an opportunity. After Gill raced to the triple-digit score, Yuvraj Singh shared an ultimate post for Gill, backing him let his bat do the talking.
“It’s a fresh side, a young side. These youngsters have to prove themselves. Don’t forget, Pujara is waiting. He is grinding it out at the Ranji Trophy and is always in the radar,” Shastri had said on commentary after Gill’s failure in the first innings.
In the second innings, Gill survived a few nerve DRS calls early in his innings to reach his third Test century.
Lauding Gill’s knock, Yuvraj said: “Rising to the occasion once again and playing a well-balanced knock! Good to see the three digit mark. Well played my boy – let the bat do the talking.”
Speaking of his hundred, Gill said that the knock was very pleasing and satisfying. “It was very important and very satisfying for me to be able to score runs at No. 3. And it felt pretty good, especially with the situation. We lost Yashasvi and Rohit [Sharma] bhai – they’ve been giving us really good starts at the top of the order. I think it was important for us to get a big lead and to be able to get as many runs as possible,” Gill said after the end of day’s play.
“I think that’s part and parcel of the game. You do well and everybody’s going to applaud you. You don’t do well, everybody’s doing to… But I think the important thing is to be able to know what you’re going to do when you go into bat. I’m someone who likes to see the situation, play according to the situation and take chances and I think play percentage cricket,” he added.
On Day 4, Indian bowlers rattled the England batters, securing a 106-run victory to level the 5-match series 1-1.
