Shubman Gill's 'baffling' moment called out; fuels talk of 'India fear Ben Stokes': 'They're playing on England's ego'
India dominated in Birmingham, but experts slammed Shubman Gill’s delayed declaration, citing past Bazball chases and fear of Ben Stokes-led England.
India bounced back in stunning fashion from the Leeds defeat to dominate the second Test in Birmingham, with captain Shubman Gill at the heart of it. The 25-year-old piled up over 400 runs across two innings—featuring a double century and a ton—as India set England a towering target of 608. The visitors then made quick inroads, reducing England to 72/3 in just 16 overs by the close of Day 4.
Despite India firmly holding the upper hand heading into Day 5, experts questioned Gill’s delayed declaration, which came nearly an hour after Tea. Many felt India lost precious time to bowl England out and level the series.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Ian Ward said India’s hesitation likely stemmed from England’s fearsome reputation as a fourth-innings chasing team in the Bazball era. That fear isn’t unfounded—India had already been on the receiving end twice: first in 2022 at Edgbaston when England chased down 378, and again in Leeds last month.
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He said: "We always hear England and Ben Stokes say 'we'll try to chase anything to win'. India are just playing on that here, that's the only reason I can think of as to why they've declared so late. They're playing on England's ego, confidence, mantra, whatever you want to call it."
'It's the fear of Ben Stokes'
Former England batter Mark Butcher echoed a common sentiment among English pundits, suggesting India were wary of Ben Stokes’ side and wanted to ensure the target was well out of reach.
"It is a legacy, a tribute, to the fear Stokes and England put into teams when setting fourth-innings targets," Butcher said. "India want to make sure England are completely and utterly out of it and then you ask a team reticent to draw games whether they can do it.
"India could have given themselves more time to win the game by scoring faster. They did that while Pant was at the crease but not afterwards [up until tea].
"Whether that turns out to be the right thing to do, we will find out tomorrow, but for now it is a little bit baffling."
