&w=3840&q=100)
Shubman Gill reveals secret to his turnaround in England after smashing 269 at Edgbaston: 'I worked on a few things...'
India captain Shubman Gill celebrates after completing his double-century on Day 2 of the second Test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham. AP
Captain Shubman Gill revealed working on 'a few things' at the end of the Indian Premier League last month after putting the Indian team in the driver's seat with a majestic double-century on Day 2 of the second Test against England in Birmingham.
Gill broke Virat Kohli's record for the highest score by an Indian Test captain as he smashed his way to 269 – missing out on becoming just the third Indian to score a triple hundred by 31 runs. His knock, along with Ravindra Jadeja and Yashasvi Jaiswal's contributions of 89 and 87 respectively, helped India post a mammoth 587 on the board on the second day at Edgbaston.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
The 25-year-old had scored just 88 runs in three Tests in England before the ongoing series – including in the ICC World Test Championship finals against New Zealand and Australia in 2021 and 2023 respectively – at an average of 14.66. Gill, however, has been a different beast in the ongoing series, having scored 424 runs in just three innings at a stunning average of 141.33.
'Good position to be in. I worked on a few things and at the end of IPL, which is very important before going into Test cricket. Looking at how things gave gone so far, it is working for me,' Gill said in a chat with Dinesh Karthik on Sky Sports at stumps on Day 2.
'Nice to get those catches'
Gill also praised his team's slip catching in the evening session on Thursday. Akash Deep, replacing Jasprit Bumrah in the XI at Edgbaston, struck twice in as many deliveries in his second over while senior pacer Mohammed Siraj struck shortly after as the English top three comprising openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett and No 3 Ollie Pope perished with just 25 runs on the board.
And what was impressive was the fact that all three nicked the ball to the slips – a region where multiple catches had been put down in the series opener at Headingley, Leeds.
'I did not take any slip catches for the last couple of days because I was batting, but nice to get those catches. Fielding was very important and we discussed about it that if we were half as good in the previous game, things would have been different,' Gill added during the conversation, reflecting on India's marked improvement in the fielding department.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
India currently are trailing England 0-1 in the five-match series after suffering a five-wicket defeat in the first Test. Not only are they aiming to level the series ahead of the third Test at Lord's, they will also be hoping to end a winless run at 'Fortress Edgbaston'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
19 minutes ago
- First Post
IND vs ENG Live, 2nd Test Match Day 4 Live Score: India look to post 400-plus target at Edgbaston
India vs England Live, 2nd Test Match Day 4: India tightened their grip on the second Test at Edgbaston, ending Day 3 with a commanding 244-run lead and nine wickets in hand. With KL Rahul and Karun Nair set to continue on Day 4, the visitors will aim to set England a 400-plus target, while the hosts will hope to strike early and keep the chase within reach. Follow our live blog for all the updates read more IND vs ENG, 2nd Test Day 4 LIVE: At stumps on Day 3 of the ongoing second Test match, India had stretched their lead to 244 runs with nine wickets in hand. KL Rahul and Karun Nair will resume India's second innings on Day 4. India currently lead England by 244 runs and will look to set a target of over 400 before declaring. England, on the other hand, will be eager to bowl well on the penultimate day, hoping to get India all-out by the end of the day so they have enough time and not too many runs to chase in the final innings. India vs England, 2nd Test Day 4 Live Score & Updates: India continued to dominate the second Test against England at Edgbaston, finishing Day 3 in a strong position with a lead of 244 runs and nine wickets still in hand. After Shubman Gill's brilliant 269 helped India post a huge total of 587, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep tore through the English batting lineup to give India a big advantage. India started the match with a bang as their batters piled up the runs. Captain Shubman Gill led the way with a stunning 269 from 387 balls. He got great support from Ravindra Jadeja, who made 89, and Washington Sundar, who added 42. Yashasvi Jaiswal also played a solid knock of 87 at the top. In reply, England got off to the worst possible start. They were reduced to 25/3 early, with Akash Deep and Siraj removing the top three cheaply. Siraj was the star, ending with fantastic figures of 6/70. Akash Deep also impressed with 4/88. The only resistance came from Harry Brook and Jamie Smith, who forged a brilliant 303-run stand for the sixth wicket. But once Brook was bowled by Akash Deep, the rest of the English batting collapsed quickly. England were all out for 407 in just 89.3 overs. India will look to extend their lead to over 400 and then put pressure on England in the fourth innings.
Hindustan Times
21 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Jasprit Bumrah keeps a tab on commentary when Ravi Shastri hypes him on-air with towering praise: ‘He's listening…'
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri hyped Jasprit Bumrah once again during commentary on Day 3 of Edgbaston as the Indian paceman listened to it on the sidelines with a smile on his face. Shastri, who has often praised Bumrah on-air, did it again when India were dominating England with half of their side back in the pavilion for 87. The premier pacer was rested for the second Test to manage his workload, which irked several cricket fans and pundits, including Shastri, who was not impressed with this call by the team management when India was trailing in the series. Ravi Shastri hyped Jasprit Bumrah from the commentary box.(PTI Images) However, in his absence, Mohammed Siraj led the charge and dismantled the English batting line-up with a six-fer. He was well complemented by Akash Deep from the other end, who claimed four wickets. When India were in the dominant position with the ball, Shastri made sure to hype Bumrah while he noticed that the Indian paceman was listening to his words from the sidelines with a cheeky smile on his face. 'Can you imagine if Jasprit was out there in the middle with that many runs on the board? He's listening. England wouldn't have been happy,' said Shastri. The team management picked Akash Deep in place of Bumrah, and he justified his selection by claiming four wickets to give needed support to Siraj, the standout bowler. Mohammed Siraj stands tall with a six-fer Siraj's six-for is not only his best Test bowling performance in England but also marks him as only the second Indian bowler to take six wickets at Edgbaston since Chetan Sharma's 6/58 in 1986. Despite a game-changing 303-run stand between Harry Brook (158) and Jamie Smith (184*), which nearly tilted the balance in England's favour, Siraj stayed composed. With the second new ball in hand, he led India's fightback, dismantling the lower order by removing Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, and Shoaib Bashir in quick time. His timely breakthroughs ensured India regained control just as England looked set to pull off a dramatic turnaround. By stumps, India had extended their overall lead to 244 runs at 64-1 in their second innings with KL Rahul (28*) and Karun Nair (7*) in the middle.
Hindustan Times
21 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Mohammed Siraj bowls with heart, fire and finally some luck to end second-fiddle perception in Jasprit Bumrah absence
'Well bowled, bad luck' is one of the worst compliments a bowler can receive. Every bowler loves to bowl well, but he'd rather take a bushel of wickets not bowling well than the other way round. Mohammed Siraj claimed a six-fer against England in the first innings at Edgbaston.(Action Images via Reuters) For a long time, Mohammed Siraj must have been wondering what he needed to do to turn his 'bad luck' around. From the time of his debut in Melbourne in December 2020 (not longer after his father passed away in Hyderabad and he couldn't make the trip back home owing to Covid-19 restrictions that would have prevented him from rejoining the team), Siraj has been nothing if not all heart. Whether with the ball or in the field, he gives it his all. That hasn't always translated to success in the manner in which it is measured – numbers in the wickets column, or runs saved in the outfield. But, and pardon the poor pun, Siraj has never lost heart. When the rewards finally came at Edgbaston on Friday, the 31-year-old would have been equal parts elated and relieved. Elated that he stepped up to the plate when the team required him the most, in Jasprit Bumrah's absence, and relieved that finally, for all his commitment and fire and passion, there was something to show. Before the third day of the second Test, Siraj's last five-fer in Tests was in January last year, on a spiteful Newlands surface when he sent South Africa crashing to 55 all out on the first morning. He took six for 15 to Bumrah's two for 25. That first-session jaw-dropper set up India's series-levelling seven-wicket victory. Siraj will be hoping Friday's six for 70, a splendid effort with both new balls, will catalyse a similar denouement. Over the years, it has become fashionable to run Siraj down. He averages a perfectly respectable 30.71 from 38 Tests, his strike-rate isn't shabby at 52.4 balls per wicket. Just to put things in perspective, the highly rated Mohammed Shami's average is 27.7 and his strike-rate is 50.3. Siraj doesn't suffer much by comparison, but perception is a strange beast in Indian cricket, which is why the larger ecosystem was quick to label the Indian bowling in Australia over the winter a one-man army. True, Bumrah towered over everyone else – teammate and opponent alike – but Siraj bowled more overs than everyone except Pat Cummins, and took more wickets than only Bumrah, Cummins and Scott Boland, also the only three who took wickets quicker than him. His tally of 20 sticks was just one behind Boland and he had better returns than Mitchell Starc, but all that was overshadowed by the genius of Bumrah. Mohammed Siraj shuts his critics but the job is not done yet Siraj will be the first to admit he could and should have done more. He must have been troubled by the lack of wickets – he admitted in Australia that Bumrah played a key role in settling his anxiety, reminding him of the need to focus on what he needed to do rather than worry about what the outcome would be – especially because even former colleagues were questioning his place in the scheme of things. He can now allow himself a little pat on the back, but only a little one, because he knows that there is plenty of work ahead of him in this Test, and going forward. Siraj might have seen a bit of himself in his beleaguered mate Prasidh Krishna on Friday. The Karnataka pacer leaked runs by the dozen in his first spell – 50 in five overs – as India embarked on a flawed short-ball mode of attack against Jamie Smith. It wasn't of his own volition that Prasidh was banging the ball into his own half of the pitch. Shubman Gill had three men patrolling the leg-side boundary and a fourth halfway to the fence, hoping to trap the England wicketkeeper on the pull. Smith had an answer to every Prasidh bouncer on a slowish, unresponsive track where the ball hardly rose above the waist. When he did bowl a more conventional length after lunch, Prasidh beat the bat numerous times but by then, the damage had been done, his reputation as a free leaker of boundaries having grown manifold. 'Somebody in the team had to do it,' Prasidh said last week in Leeds, where also he was the designated bouncer enforcer. 'I can't sit back and say, 'I want to look at my numbers, what my economy is'.' Prasidh was the odd wicketless man out at Edgbaston as Siraj and Akash Deep shared all ten wickets. Knowing Siraj, he would already have told his pace buddy that the latter's time will come, soon. After all, there is a reason why the Hyderabadi goes by jigra.
