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Over the years, one has grown accustomed to signature celebrations from Indian batters. Like Sachin Tendulkar whipping off his helmet, holding his hands half-aloft, looking up to the heavens in gratitude and thanksgiving. Like Virat Kohli threatening to touch the skies with his gravity-defying leaps. Like Ravindra Jadeja twirling his bat this way and that as if it were a toothpick.
Like Shubman Gill cutely bowing to the audience, helmet in front in his right hand, bat tucked behind him in his left.
The last time Gill did that was on September 24, after reaching three-figures in an ODI against Australia in Indore. The last time he did likewise in a Test was on March 11, also last year and also against the Aussies in Ahmedabad. That celebration was conspicuous by its absence in Visakhapatnam on Sunday afternoon.
There was delight, of course, but the overwhelming emotion Gill entertained after scrambling through for a single that took him to three-figures in the second Test against England was relief. Relief that the monkey was off his back. Relief that he had bought himself time. Relief that, finally, at No. 3 where he has been batting by choice in Tests since July 2023, he had made a meaningful contribution. Relief that his run of poor scores – his highest in the preceding 12 innings was 34 – had finally come to an end.
Also Read: Shubman Gill warned; was given ultimatum to perform in 2nd India vs England Test otherwise…
To say that Gill was under pressure going out to bat on Sunday would be a massive understatement. Coming off scores of 23 and 0 in Hyderabad and the aforementioned 34 in the first innings at the ACA-VDCA Stadium, he could have been forgiven for thinking he was fighting for his place in the side. Another failure, and the already sharp tongues would have been accompanied by freshly sharpened knives. Gill needed his third Test ton as much for himself as for his team.
And to think that it might not have happened at all.
His hopes of a solid platform from which to launch his innings were dashed in the second over of day three when equally out-of-touch skipper Rohit Sharma was bamboozled and bowled by a beauty from James Anderson. Gill walked out to the day’s 11th delivery, against the bowler who has had his number five times in Test cricket.
He had wended his way to four when he played outside the line to left-arm spinner Tom Hartley, found to his horror that the ball didn’t turn but hustled on to strike his pad. On only four, he was preparing to walk off when Shreyas Iyer exhorted him to seek a review. Technology revealed that he had got a faint inside edge before the ball made contact with the pad – ‘I didn’t feel the edge’, he admitted later – and he received a second chance.
A third chance came five minutes later when, without adding to his score, he fell over trying to work Anderson to leg and appeared palpably in front. Fortunately, notorious not-outer Marais Erasmus ruled in the batter’s favour and England’s recourse in DRS indicated that Gill had survived by the skin of his teeth, the umpire’s call coming to his rescue. If he didn’t make these opportunities count…
To Gill’s credit, he did. In grand style. As if a switch had been flicked on, he was a completely different batter thereafter. Something seemed to have freed him up mentally; the feet started moving better, the hard hands gave way to the softer variety that was the need of the hour, the rhythm and confidence returned evidently. He had finally conquered the gremlins, though he had opted to take the rocky, undulating, arduous route to reach that denouement.
The Gill of the first half of last year, who batted like a dream and to whom run-making appeared the most obvious and simple proposition, turned on the charm in front of more than 15,000 entranced fans. The strokes flowed freely, class oozed out of his every pore, the timing subliminal and the placement precise. There were short-arm jabs through mid-wicket, towering sixes down the ground, whiplash cuts and creamy drives. England’s spinners, inexperienced and therefore unaccustomed to such flair and authority, operated in a daze, caught between concentrating on their own craft and remembering not to admire the aesthetically appealing pounding.
In the end, after dancing to 104, Gill got himself out, gloving a reverse sweep off debutant Shoaib Bashir. It was contrary to everything he had done since the twin reprieves, it was needless, a gift of a wicket when England were flagging visibly. But it came on 104, not 4 or 14, so maybe one shouldn’t be too harsh on the young man.
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