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Shubman Gill branded 'villain', blamed for making himself 'a target' with sledging: 'Something changed at Lord's...'
Shubman Gill failed to make a mark in the first innings of the fourth Test, departing for 12 off 23 deliveries.
Shubman Gill’s running feud with England seemed to work against the Indian captain again in Manchester, as he failed to make a mark with the bat in the first innings of the fourth Test. It was during that heated passage of play in the final minutes of Day 3, marked by Gill’s confrontation with Zak Crawley over deliberate time-wasting and England’s delayed arrival for the start of the second innings, that the tone was set.
Ahead of the fourth Test, Gill doubled down in a fiery press conference, accusing England of breaching the “spirit of cricket,” a remark that drew both support and backlash. That off-field eruption now appears to be seeping into his on-field form, as Gill cut a visibly edgy figure from the moment he walked out to bat on Day 2 in Leeds.
India vs England 4th Test Live Score
He was greeted by boos and jeers from the English crowd and was dismissed cheaply, as he was done in by a delivery from counterpart Ben Stokes, which sharply moved into the right-hander. Gill offered no shot and was adjudged lbw. He scored 12.
Following his dismissal, Sanjay Manjrekar and Jonathan Trott discussed Gill's temperament in detail, and both seemed to agree that the incident on Day 3 of the third Test may have significantly impacted Gill, the batter.
Manjrekar, Trott on Gill
Speaking about his dismissal, Manjrekar said that Gill has become “tentative” with the bat since the heated exchange with Crawley and the eventual shift in attention towards his leadership.
“Shubman Gill getting out the way he has… he's suddenly become tentative since that incident on Day 3,” Manjrekar told JioHotstar.
"I'll tell you what, there was an offensive shot he played before. This was a good delivery that came back in, but I'm looking at somebody who scored a ton of runs in the first couple of matches. I don't want to connect this (dismissal) with the incident that happened on Day 3, but suddenly, Shubman Gill is now not getting the scores. This is a bit of a reality check.
"It's not an extended stretch of failure, but he's getting out to defensive shots. I see a bit of tentativeness. Something changed on Day 3.
“He's a superstar in India, he goes to England, the world is at his feet, and now the world has suddenly changed.”
Trott, who was also part of the expert panel, stated that Gill has become a “villain” in the series, and that he would need to “bounce back” from the mental pressure.
“I think Sanjay makes a good point. Suddenly, he has gone from being a batter to being a villain, as he was portrayed in Day 3. Attention went from his batting to how he was leading the side. The reception that he got today is undoubtedly something to do with the way he carried himself,” said Trott.
“The first two Tests were about Shubman Gill, the batter, but since then, he's made a target of himself. You're A, a good side, and B, have to face hostility. We need to see how long it takes Gill to bounce back from this,” said Trott.
