Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar lauded Indian opener, Shubman Gill for his 128-run knock on the day three of India’s ongoing Test match against Australia in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Gavasakar speaking to Gill after the day’s play said, “Yeh aapki doosri century hogi…Century ka count aapka aur badhte rahe…8,000, 10,000, 15,000 run karein aap ( This is your second century. I wish your century count grows bigger and you make 8,000, 10,000, 15,000 runs).”
“He has a lot of time. When he plays a defensive shot, the way he bends forward, even against Mitchell Starc… he presents a straight face of the bat and plays a forward defence, it was so pleasing to see. It shows that he has confidence. He doesn’t only play on the backfoot. His foot moves forward and he has a solid defence, not just a solid attack. And in Test cricket, you need that,” he added.
1️⃣2️⃣8️⃣ Runs
2️⃣3️⃣5️⃣ Balls
1️⃣2️⃣ Fours
1️⃣ Six@ShubmanGill scored a magnificent century and put #TeamIndia 🇮🇳 on 🔝 on Day 3 👏👏Relive his special ton here 📽️👇 #INDvAUS https://t.co/dGhst8kkcX pic.twitter.com/yzx6rXQgfV
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 11, 2023
Speaking about his technique Gavaskar said, “Shuffling back and forth against pace bowlers isn’t very easy. But he picks the lines and lengths really well. Kisi bhi ballebaaz ke paas agar time ho, usne agar apne career ko sambhaala, toh aage jaake 8-10,000 run aaram se kar lega (If a batter has time, if he keeps his career in the right direction, he can easily score 8-10,000 runs in Tests).”
Gill gave ample display of his immense talent with a stylish hundred but India’s batting unit didn’t fully press home the advantage, ending the third day at 289 for three against Australia in the fourth Test, Gill, who batted for nearly six hours scored a chanceless 128 off 235 balls, hit 12 sweetly-timed boundaries apart from a lofted six off Nathan Lyon to justify his selection in playing XI ahead of KL Rahul but India scored only 256 runs in 90 overs.