Gill and the fire that burns deep within

Hindustan Times

7 hours ago

It was just over six months ago that Shubman Gill paid the price for not making the most of his starts in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was dropped from the playing 11 for the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the head-down trudge off the ground even before the warm-ups ended on Day 1 had spoken of a fire that burned deep within. India captain Shubman Gill. (AP)
There was disappointment. It hurt. This wasn't something he wanted to understand. But when asked about it, all he had done was smile. Now, playing at a venue where India have never won, Gill did more than just grab his chance. His 269 (387 balls, 30x4, 3x6) was the cornerstone around which India's massive total of 587 runs was built.
It is the highest score by an Indian in England, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar's majestic 221 at the Oval in 1979. It is also the highest score by an Indian captain in Tests, surpassing Virat Kohli's 254* against South Africa in 2019.
In reply, England reached 77/3 at close of play. The hosts still trail by 510 runs.
For most of the innings, Gill had just smiled. When he was beaten, when he was forced to scramble, when he was joined by Ravindra Jadeja (89) in the middle with India on 211/5 but it was only when he got to the milestones did the fire burst out onto the surface.
Usually, he just bows to the crowd. But here he let all the pent-up emotion out when he reached his century and then the double. He wanted this more than anything else and sometimes that is where it all begins.
Gill seemed unflappable. A calm presence in the middle that is perhaps only distinguished by the sound of the ball hitting his bat. It is that sound that he was looking for in Australia but it is only now, in England, that he has found it again. The Indian Premier League helped. He scored 650 runs at an average of 50.00 and came into England in a good frame of mind. But the thing that has stood out the most in his batting in England has not been the shots but the defence.
He looked to play everything right under his eye... as late as possible and the start to the innings had a very measured tone to it. While Yashasvi Jaiswal went for his shots, Gill took his time and the tight defence allowed him to do that. It also made the England bowlers look rather helpless. On a wicket like this, the bowling side have to keep plugging away and hope the batters make a mistake. But while many of India's batters did that, Gill simply didn't bite.
The knock will also ensure that Gill's away Test record won't be questioned for a long time and that, in turn, should make him an even more confident skipper. There are some who might say that this is a flat track and they aren't wrong but how many of the other Indian batters truly made the opportunity count?
Not alone
Gill, however, didn't do it alone. He found an able ally in Jadeja, who showed why he is the world's top allrounder once again and then in Washington Sundar. The 203-run stand between Gill and Jadeja, followed by the 144-run stand between Gill and Washington helped India take complete charge of the match.
The original definition of an allrounder is a player who would get into the team either as a batter or a bowler. But these days we have batters who can bowl and bowlers who can bat. Jadeja, however, fits the original definition to the T. He averages 34.75 with the bat and 24.54 with the ball — just the numbers alone place him among India's best batters and bowlers. Nothing bits and pieces about that and there are no caveats there either.
The last time he played at Edgbaston, he had scored a century (104 off 194 balls) and this time, he got close again. His consistency is what sets him apart and that is something Washington would love to incorporate into his game. Not yet an allrounder in the Jadeja mould, Washington has shown over the course of his short career that he certainly has the batting chops.
His 42 (103 balls) ensured that India's innings didn't come to an abrupt end as it did twice in the first Test and that allowed the visitors to put up a total that will allow their bowlers to keep attacking for the rest of the match.
As if to make that point, Akash Deep picked up two wickets in two balls to peg England back right at the start of their innings. Mohammed Siraj followed it up with one of his own.
Perhaps watching Gill made England think it was easy but Test cricket rarely ever is.