Shubman Gill has been utterly dominant with the bat in the ongoing five-match Test series against England. Having been appointed as the new Test skipper ahead of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, Gill has led from the front emphatically. On Day 1 of the fifth and final Test in London, Gill once again justified BCCI’s decision to name him Rohit Sharma’s successor, as the 25-year-old broke Sunil Gavaskar’s 47-year-old record. (IND vs ENG, 5th Test, Day 1)
With India two wickets down, Gill began to stitch together a partnership with his Gujarat Titans teammate Sai Sudharsan. Gill only needed 11 runs to go past Gavaskar’s record of most runs (732) by an Indian captain in a Test series (1978-79 vs West Indies). Then, he did it in style, smacking Jamie Overton for a four to surpass the legendary Indian cricketer.
Receiving a back-of-a-length and widish delivery, Gill hung back in his crease, judging the length perfectly, and then hammered it for a four, through the covers to get to 11 off 17 balls. Gill remained unbeaten at 15 off 23 balls, taking India to 72/2 at lunch. Meanwhile, Sudharsan is batting on 25 off 67 deliveries.
Gill eventually departed for 21 off 35 runs in a suicidal run-out incident. Facing Gut Atkinson in the 28th over, Gill tapped a length delivery to the off side and ran off for a single. He reached almost halfway, while Sudharsan stood like a traffic policeman, urging him to go back. By the time, Gill decided to retreat, he slipped a little and Atkinson was ready in his follow through, sending the ball flying onto the stumps. A frustrated Gill walked off to the pavilion, and will be disappointed.
Gill is also now only 38 runs short of breaking Gavaskar’s 54-year-old record for most runs by an Indian batter in a bilateral Test series. Gavaskar got 774 runs during his debut series in 1971 against the West Indies, a performance which saw him clatter four centuries and three fifties in only four Tests, at an average of 154.80.
Gill, who is leading India for the first time in Tests during this series, has already reached 737 runs in eight innings, at an average of 90.25, packed with four tons.
India trail 1-2 in the series, but a win in the final Test will see them end it in a draw. India were jolted early when Yashasvi Jaiswal (2) lost his wicket out LBW to Gus Atkinson. Chris Woakes then removed KL Rahul (14).