Shubman Gill vindicates Ajit Agarkar's Champions Trophy call; roars back to form but narrowly misses century vs England
Shubman Gill, who dropped to No.3, scored 87 off 96 in India's four-wicket win against England in Nagpur.
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar's decision to name Shubman Gill as the vice-captain over Hardik Pandya for the Champions Trophy raised quite a few eyebrows after his forgettable campaign in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia. But the India star vindicated the call with a brilliant knock of 87 against England in the opening ODI match of the three-game series on Thursday in Nagpur.
Unlike any of his previous 45 matches in the format, Gill surprisingly did not open for India at the VCA Stadium. With Virat Kohli out with a knee injury, Yashasvi Jaiswal was handed his debut cap, and was picked as the opener alongside captain Rohit Sharma. The move backfired with the left-hander getting dismissed for 15 off 22, but Gill, who dropped one down, helped India bounce back with his valiant knock of 87 off 96.
The 25-year-old played second fiddle in the 94-run stand for the third wicket alongside Shreyas Iyer, who smashed 59 off 36, before taking charge in the 108-run fourth-wicket stand with Axar Patel, who as well scored a half-century. Gill laced 14 boundaries and hit no sixes in his unbeaten 96-ball as India cruised to the target of 249 with 11.2 overs to spare.
The century marked the return of Gill, who had struggled during the tour of Australia, scoring just 93 runs in five innings. He was even benched in the Melbourne game, albeit due to India's batting plans for the game.
Why did selectors pick Gill as vice-captain?
Speaking to the media last month, at the time of India's squad announcement for the Champions Trophy, Agarkar had explained that dressing room feedback and ‘leadership qualities’ led to the selectors picking Gill over Hardik as Rohit's new deputy in ODI cricket.
“Shubman was vice-captain in Sri Lanka anyway, I wouldn’t read too much into it. A lot of the feedback comes from the dressing room. You also want to keep your options open. One of the challenges is that not many are leading their state teams nowadays… but you are always on the lookout for anyone who has got some leadership qualities," he said.
India take lead in England series
Earlier, England captain Jos Buttler opted to bat first in Nagpur, but lost regular wickets and were bowled out for 248 runs in 47.4 overs. Buttler's 52, and 51 from Jacob Bethell were the only standout knocks for the tourists. For India, debutant fast bowler Harshit Rana and spinner Ravindra Jadeja stole the show as they picked three wickets each.
With the four-wicket win, India took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The next game will be played on Sunday in Cuttack.
