Shubman Gill did an exemplary job in his maiden series as captain to marshal his troops impeccably to churn out a 2-2 series draw in away conditions. With the series on the line and trailing 1-2, the Men in Blue put up an audacious fightback in the final Test at The Oval to salvage the series.
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However, in the aftermath of the five-match tour, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin highlighted a key statistic under Gill’s leadership that could have helped India eke out a win.
Ashwin questioned Gill’s bowling plans to build enough pressure and create wicket-taking opportunities. The retired spinner also highlighted how the total number of maidens bowled by India were far less, in fact overs where bowlers conceded one run or two runs were also sporadic which he feels could have played a factor in deciding the final result of the contest.
“This is something India should seriously consider as part of their bowling plans. I think in team meetings also it’s discussed a lot that you take three maidens you will get a wicket opportunity but why have the maidens not come through from the India side.” (Check the video below from 19:00 min).
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Stepping in to fill a major void left by the retirements of former Test captain Rohit Sharma and batting stalwart Virat Kohli, Gill had tremendous pressure on him before coming to the tour. However, he had clearly specified that he didn’t want his batting to be compromised for the burden of captaincy and he indeed lived upto his goals.
Gill finished as the top run-scorer for the series with 754 runs in 10 innings at an impressive average of 75.4 and even earned the Player of the series award. The stylish right-hander hit a total of four centuries which also included a double ton. Apart from his batting too, Gill’s captaincy was also commendable barring a few decisions and mistakes but it’s a learning curve and he will only get better at leadership with more experience.
His next assignment as Test captain will be a two-Test home series against West Indies in October followed by another couple of Tests against South Africa in November.
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