Shubman Gill's mistake exposed by Australian legend as runs dry up for India's No.3: 'Scott Boland was bowling and...'
Shubman Gill is yet to get going in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. A former Australia captain explains how he can.
KL Rahul has been India's most consistent batter of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli scored a century each. Nitish Reddy has thus far been India's find of the tour, and Jasprit Bumrah has, without a doubt, been India's single-biggest standout performer across the first three Tests against Australia. But that's a very little part of India's squad of 15. Only a few have fired; the rest have blown cold, including captain Rohit Sharma, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and India's No. 3 Shubman Gill.

A lot was expected of Gill, given how he began his Test career in Australia four years ago and scored a scintillating 91 at the Gabba in India's famous win. After missing the Perth Test due to a fractured thumb injury, Gill returned to India's Playing XI in Adelaide and Brisbane, and while he got starts, scoring 31 and 28 with the pink ball, Gill couldn't convert it into anything big. He was out for 1 at the Gabba as India were bowled out for 260, resulting in another failure; however, with the series tantalisingly poised, there's no room for error.
Gill would also take heart from Rohit Sharma's backing of the youngster. While his captain has no doubts about the youngster's ability, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has voiced some concerns about India's No. 3. Ponting weighed in on Gill's overseas struggle and pointed out a technical error that's letting the batter down.
"I love watching him play. When you're watching him bat and bat well, he looks as good as anyone in world cricket. But the numbers don't really stack up, do they, away from home?" Ponting said on the ICC Review.
"I watched him a little bit in Adelaide and it almost looked like he changed things up too much. Scott Boland was bowling and he changed his guard, he moved across to the off stump, presented his front pad to Boland, and Boland got him out with a full straight one."
How Shubman Gill can get better from here
Gill's maiden inning of the series began on a promising note. He scored five fours during his 51-ball stay before missing a full and straight delivery from Scott Boland, who ran India ragged. In the second, he raced to 28 off just 30 balls before getting cleaned up by Mitchell Starc, also a full-length delivery. It's clear that something is wrong with Gill's technique.
"If anything, I think he needs to back himself a little bit more, needs to back his defensive technique a little bit more here in Australia and still find a way to be able to score and score quickly," Ponting, Australia's 3-time World Cup winner said.
"I'm sure when he's at home or when he's generally scored runs anywhere around the world, he scores them in a nice, attacking mode and almost to the point where he's not really thinking about getting out - he's only thinking about scoring runs. If he goes in with that mindset and that attitude, then things could change here in Melbourne for him."
