Shubman Gill played with maturity beyond his years, showing excellent temperament and technique to notch up a magnificent century. The Hitman was back in full force, showcasing his vast experience and reminding everyone why he’s one of the best batsmen in the world.
On the second day of this fifth and final Test, the difference between the hosts and England in home conditions was clearly visible.
Even with their apparent confidence, England’s players may have feared this kind of day when they started this five-test marathon in India via Abu Dhabi. It is a testament to Ben Stokes’s team’s perseverance that they were able to defeat India over the majority of this series and win the first Test, but on the second day of the fifth and final Test, the difference between these two sides in these conditions was clearly visible.
Rohit Sharma & Shubman Gill Script India’s Path to Victory:
On a day of total dominance, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill scored incredible hundreds to lead the home team to 473/8 at stumps, good for a 255-run margin. In their third Test match, Sarfaraz Khan and rookie Devdutt Padikkal both scored quick fifties. Under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, England’s players have accomplished some amazing things in recent years, but they would be well advised to avoid an innings loss here because the odds are so heavily in favor of India.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were quick to establish their dominance, as India began the second day at a commanding 135/1. After two quiet overs, Rohit decided to target Shoaib Bashir. He blasted a four through mid-off after picking up a six at the long-on boundary.
Shubman Gill became the more dominant partner as their partnership expanded. On a day when not a cloud was in sight, Anderson showed little movement, in contrast to the opening day when Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj managed to get the ball to deviate in the air during the morning session. Gill then launched a straight bat for a six down the ground, potentially the hit of the day, as he charged at the seasoned bowler, who was still two wickets short of 700 Test wickets at this point.
Perhaps a close second was an enormous cover drive by Shubman Gill against Mark Wood to the left of mid-off. Throughout a wicketless opening session, there were many of these beautiful strokes, as one would anticipate from two players with such fine artistic sense.
Stokes was so confident in the Indian pair’s lack of problems that he swiftly turned to a strong leg-side field for Wood and the short-ball approach. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill found methods to keep aiming for the boundary, so neither did it result in a wicket nor slow down the run-flow. Rohit once famously created space and smashed a short ball from the fast bowler through an empty mid-off for four runs.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were equally unaffected by the spinners. After being pinned leg-before-wicket by Bashir during the first inning in Ranchi, Gill has made the decision to stifle the spin as much as possible and improve his footwork agility. Gill was mostly happy to move out and defend after the slightly tight run chase in Ranchi, but he was free to unleash powerful blows here. Knowing there was no risk in hitting with the turn, he accomplished so against Bashir more than time with ease.
India took the lead with one such shot that was above the sightscreen and straight as an arrow. The rest of the morning session then turned into a race between Rohit and Gill to see who could reach the three-figure mark first. With a single off Tom Hartley to midwicket, Rohit reached the target. Gill joined his captain after just two balls as he swept Bashir to a square leg for four.
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