Team India's star opener Shubman Gill had an impressive outing in the first innings of the fourth and final Test of the series against Australia. Gill forged a 74-run partnership with Rohit Sharma for the first wicket, and reached his half-century in 89 deliveries in the innings, putting India in a dominant position by Lunch on Day 3. Gill endured a poor outing in the third Test, where he had come in as replacement for the underperforming KL Rahul; in the two innings across the game in Indore, the youngster had scores of 21 and 5.
However, as Gill put on an impressive display in Ahmedabad, he received praise from fans and former cricketers alike, with legendary Indian former captain Sunil Gavaskar making a big claim about the 23-year-old opener.
During a conversation post-lunch on Star Sports, Gavaskar talked in detail about Gill's batting in the innings, insisting that it seemed the opener had more time on the ball than other batters.
“He has a lot of time. When he plays a defensive shot, the way he bends forward, even against Mitchell Starc… he presents a straight face of the bat and plays a forward defence, it was so pleasing to see. It shows that he has confidence. He doesn't only play on the backfoot. His foot moves forward and he has a solid defence, not just a solid attack. And in Test cricket, you need that,” Gavaskar said.
“Shuffling back and forth against pace bowlers isn't very easy. But he picks the lines and lengths really well. Kisi bhi ballebaaz ke paas agar time ho, usne agar apne career ko sambhaala, toh aage jaake 8-10,000 run aaram se kar lega (If a batter has time, if he keeps his career in the right direction, he can easily score 8-10,000 runs in Tests),” said Gavaskar further.
{{/usCountry}}“Shuffling back and forth against pace bowlers isn't very easy. But he picks the lines and lengths really well. Kisi bhi ballebaaz ke paas agar time ho, usne agar apne career ko sambhaala, toh aage jaake 8-10,000 run aaram se kar lega (If a batter has time, if he keeps his career in the right direction, he can easily score 8-10,000 runs in Tests),” said Gavaskar further.
{{/usCountry}}While Gill had produced a memorable outing in India's famous win in Gabba Test in 2021 (91 off 146 deliveries in second innings), the opener has remained fairly inconsistent in whites overall. In 15 Tests, Gill averages 33.08 with a hundred and five fifties to his name so far.