Having received criticism for his batting performance lately, India batter Shubman Gill responded in style with a resurgent ton on Sunday. Day 3 was enthralling as England posted 67/1 at Stumps, in response to India’s 255 in the second innings.
The day began with James Anderson taking the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Then Gill staged a fightback, despite starting off on a shaky note. He slowly found his tempo, and ended up getting his third Test century. Ben Stokes showed some good captaincy skills, changing fields which made it harder and finally Gill lost his wicket.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Pietersen reminded fans of an earlier prediction he made on Friday, where he asked fans to give Gill time to find his form. Retweeting that prediction, the England legend wrote, “Thank you, @ShubmanGill.”
This was also Gill’s first ton at the No. 3 position. Before this knock, he had never scored a half-century at the No. 3 position in the last 11 innings in his Test career. He also survived three close calls in the morning on Sunday.
After Gill’s departure, the rest of the Indian team lost their wickets with ease. 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.
During the Hyderabad Test, Pietersen had a different stance on his approach on Gill. He criticised Gill for his batting approach, but changed his perspective in the second Test. He went on to compare Gill to Jacques Kallis. Pietersen said that Kallis averaged 22 in his first 10 Test matches, and then became one of the greatest players in history.
Speaking after the final session on Day 4, Gill said, “Definitely very pleased but I left a bit out there to be honest. The first one I didn’t feel it (inside edge onto pad). Shreyas told me to take it in case it’s umpire’s call. I saw the point fielder go there and I thought it was a percentage shot. Should’ve just played the 5-6 overs till tea. Pretty decent wicket to bat on. Not an easy kind of wicket to hit on the rise.”
“Have to apply yourself because the odd one is turning and odd one is keeping low. I think so (getting pulled up by his father for that shot that got him out). I’ll get to know once I get back to the hotel but I think so. He comes for most of my games, there’s no such pressure. I think it’s 70-30 at the moment. Morning session will be key. We’ve seen there is moisture in the morning and help for fast bowlers and spinners,” he further added.
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