Shubman Gill (Photo Source: Twitter/BCCI)
Former India skipper and a legend of the game Sunil Gavaskar lavished praises on India’s opening batter Shubman Gill who notched up a century against Australia in the ongoing fourth and final Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The Ahmedabad pitch proved to be a batter’s paradise as after the Australian batters racked up 480 runs in their first innings, Gill led India’s charge.
The youngster batted brilliantly on Day 3, played a superbly timed innings and appeared to be fully in control before being dismissed by Nathan Lyon for a 235-ball 128. His knock included 12 fours and a six and assisted Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Virat Kohli brilliantly while forming crucial partnerships with all three.
After the end of the third day’s play, Gill and Gavaskar got into a candid conversation where the latter congratulated the youngster for his second Test ton, and also wished for him to achieve many more laurels in the future.
“Yeh aapki doosri century hogi…Century ka count aapka aur badhte rahe…8,000, 10,000, 15,000 run karein aap ( This is your second century. I wish your century count grows bigger and you make 8,000, 10,000, 15,000 runs),” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by NDTV.
When Gill went past the 100-run mark on Saturday, March 11, Gavaskar lauded his efforts from the commentary box and also analysed his batting performance against the top Australian bowlers. Gavaskar revealed that he was very happy seeing Gill bat so brilliantly and tackle the Australian bowling attack with sheer confidence and ease.
Thanks to Gill’s magnificent ton, India finished at 289/3 in 99 overs. Skipper Rohit Sharma (35 off 58) looked in fine touch but was dismissed by Matthew Kuhnemann. Gill then partnered with Cheteshwar Pujara (42 off 121) before the veteran was dismissed by Todd Murphy. The partnership between Virat Kohli and Gill proved to be a turning point in the game as the duo got India back on track after losing the first two wickets.