Shubman Gill Shines in Difficult Times: Scores Century and Silences Critics

Difficult and challenging times are a test of fortitude and perseverance. Shubman Gill passed the exam with flying colors.

Gill seems to have done enough to silence his naysayers and detractors for the time being, unlike Shreyas Iyer, who is in a precarious position regarding his selection for the rest of the series after throwing away yet another chance. On Sunday morning, he displayed the fortitude and perseverance needed to weather an early James Anderson storm, eventually finding his rhythm and hitting three digits for the third time in the longest format. This allowed India to give England a challenging 399-run total at the ACA-VDCA Stadium for the second Test.

In contrast to Yashasvi Jaiswal, the first innings double centurion, his celebration of reaching his century—which he achieved first batting at No. 3 and after a lack of performance in 13 innings straight that called into doubt his status in the squad—was rather subdued and quiet.

With a look of pure pleasure on his face, Gill lifted his bat and removed his helmet after a single off leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed got him to the milestone. His father Lakhwinder Singh was cheering from the BCCI box inside the stadium grounds.

"Getting that hundred felt fantastic. However, I just believed that the team's work was not yet complete. Thus, it explains why the celebration was a little more subdued," Gill said at the press conference afterwards.

The support I had from captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid, and batting coach Vikram Rathour was very helpful in handling the strain and outside noise. They are the ones that have consistently inspired me. They continue to have faith in me. You'll be performing at your best when that's the case, Gill said.

Shreyas Iyer is running out of time.
Getty Photographs
Gill got through a difficult time in his Test career by "staying true" to his style of play. "You may be extending those innings if you become too defensive, overly confrontational, or attempt to be someone you are not.

"At that point, you are unable to emerge from that shell. "I'm going to play my cricket the way I've played it throughout," he told himself again.

Specifically, this 104-run effort was just as significant as Jaiswal's 209 in the first innings since India continued to lose wickets at a consistent rate until collapsing for 255 in their second innings, with the exception of the two vital partnerships of 81 and 89 that Gill forged with Iyer and Axar Patel, respectively. That was even after Gill and Axar had no trouble at all handling Rehan, left-armer Tom Hartley, and rookie off-spinner Shoaib Bashir when India were cruising at 211/4.

Near misses

Gill benefited from a fortunate break early in his bat. India might have easily been 31/3 as Anderson trapped skipper Rohit Sharma and produced an edge off Jaiswal. Gill was declared leg before wicket by the on-field umpire off Tom Hartley, but the DRS may have picked up a slight inside edge off his bat. At that time, he was on 4.

Gill was saved by the umpire's ruling shortly thereafter when Anderson curved one in to strike his front knee. A few minutes later, Hartley was the unfortunate bowler once again when Gill edged one, and Zak Crawley was slow to react at slip.

Despite the lucky break, Gill deserves praise for his fast recovery from those near-misses. He seemed focused on holding his own against the Anderson test and was able to take advantage of any misplay from the English spin trio because to his almost flawless footwork.

Gill recalled those tense moments by saying, "I was just taking one ball at a time and obviously, there was a lot happening in and around the crease then."

Remark at Number Three

Gill, who has been ranked third since the West Indies trip in July, just couldn't manage a score of fifty or more, despite having a respectable opening stand. He even had to listen to the word "extra cushion" at number three. However, Gill showed his best game before to being trapped, which is encouraging for Team India going forward in the series.

"I believe that being able to score runs at No. 3 was really significant and fulfilling for me. Particularly considering the circumstances surrounding our early losses of Yashasvi and Rohitbhai, it felt very nice, Gill said.

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