Former India Player Rates Fighting Fifty By Shubman Gill At Old Trafford over 269 At Edgbaston
India’s most memorable Test triumph in recent years came during the pandemic years when they defended the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia without captain Virat Kohli and without Jasprit Bumrah against a mounting injury list to other regulars.
Rishabh Pant’s heroics at The Gabba is mentioned the most alongside stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane’s hundred at the MCG and Mohammed Siraj’s bowling heroics while processing personal loss. The incredible batting effort by Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari to save the third Test at Sydney is also at the top of the pile.
The duo, while being injured, took multiple blows to their body while batting for four long hours to stitch an unbeaten partnership of just 64 runs and saved the match.
Shubman Gill’s heroics at Old Trafford earn praise from his Gujarat Titans coach
India are in a similar predicament in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy as they look to stay alive in the series but stare at a massive deficit in the second innings. They lost Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan for ducks in the first over without a single run on the board. This is when Test captain Shubman Gill and opener KL Rahul steadied the ship, playing 62 overs without a single hiccup and added 174 for the third wicket on the fourth day.
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Former India pacer Ashish Nehra, who is Shubman Gill’s coach at Gujarat Titans, rated Gill’s 74 not out above his 269 at Edgbaston in the second Test, saying the Old Trafford innings carries much more weight in the context of the series.
“The way Shubman Gill dug the team out of a difficult situation was great to see. The way he left the good balls or was beaten to, but kept going, was really commendable. The way he has made big runs in this series, we can keep talking about those, but this (Old Trafford) pitch is not like those before,” Nehra said on Sony Sports.
Edgbaston innings is for stats, Old Trafford is more valuable, says Ashish Nehra
Nehra, who has been a constant presence on the boundary line with Gill during the Indian Premier League (IPL), felt that innings that go beyond numbers are much more valuable in Test cricket.
“These 50-odd runs are much more important than the 269 (at Edgbaston). I know that its a double century, but those are statistics. Here, the way he adapted himself to the pitch and the situation, its not easy for a youngster, especially when you are the captain,” the former left-arm pacer added.
Despite the big partnership and both Gill and Rahul (87 not out) nearing their hundreds, India are still 137 runs behind the hosts and have to bat through three sessions to save the match.
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