He returned with 16 and six runs in the last Test.
Amid the alternate losses, India saw another side of Shubman Gill during the Lord’s Test against England. The rise of on-field aggression and involvement in heated debates led to a dip in Gill’s form with the bat. The new Test captain started the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy brilliantly with scores of 147, eight, 269, and 161. But he returned with just 16 and six runs from the third test of the five-match series. Australia Women’s captain, Alyssa Healy, opines on what could’ve led to lower scores in the last Test.
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The Lord’s Test saw England bat first after winning the toss. They amassed 387 on the board in about 113 overs. India reached the same total in about 120 overs. Gill’s contribution was 16 runs. England were out to bat once again on Day 3 with enough time to squeeze two overs. But India bowled only one over by Jasprit Bumrah because the lone spell invited a dramatic twist to the Test series.
After the headline confrontation with the English openers, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, Gill was charged up. It drew comparisons with former captain Virat Kohli. The only difference was the flow of runs from the captain’s bat.
“I read some stuff about when teams go hard at (Shubman) Gill, it can rattle him a little bit. So if England have got even half a sniff at that, then that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Knowing how successful he was in those first two Test matches, there’s a way to get under his skin a little bit,” Healy said on the Willow Talk Podcast.
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Before the start of the Lord’s Test, Gill had a tail-ender’s average in England. But he revamped the stats page with a record-shattering century on captaincy debut, followed by a double hundred and a 150+ score in the same match. His current average in England stands at a high of 57.91. He also tops the run-scoring leaderboard of the ongoing series.
Two centuries, by Joe Root and KL Rahul, were struck on the same pitch. Gill was also unfazed by Jofra Archer’s inclusion in the English pace attack. So, what led to a sudden silence from Gill’s bat? Especially considering the 22-run margin of defeat, which could have given India a 2-1 lead in the series.
Healy answered what could’ve been the case, “Teams generally go hard at the skipper. If you can get the skipper cheaply or get under their skin and rattle a few cages in that regard, then you feel you are on your way. So if England even sniff even a little bit of weakness there, they’ll ram that home. They’ll go hard.”
Team India put up an all-round show at Lord’s with Bumrah and Rahul’s names entering the Honours Board. The loss may sting for a while, especially for Shubman Gill, who’s leading India in his maiden Test series.
As of now, England lead 2-1 in the series with two more Tests remaining. Gill, however, will look to regain his purple patch when England and India face off in Manchester. The fourth Test will begin on July 23 at Old Trafford.
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