Under-fire India batter Shubman Gill scored his third Test century, in the second innings of the first Test against England on Day 3 in Vizag. Gill, whose place in the Indian team had come under threat, owing to a string of poor performances, reached the triple-digit score, prompting an epic reaction from England great Kevin Pietersen. The former England captain had backed Gill put an end to his poor run of form, and he was delighted to see the young India star finally doing it on Sunday.
Pietersen’s reaction came in after he had given the example of South Africa great Jacques Kallis, asking fans to be patient with Gill.
“Kallis averaged 22 in his first 10 Tests and turned out to be arguably the greatest player to play the game. Give @ShubmanGill time to find it please. He’s a serious player!,” Pietersen had posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The post on social media saw many fans criticise Pietersen. But, as Gill scored his third Test century, the England great said, “Thank you, Shubman Gill”. Had Gill been dismissed early once again, the heat on Pietersen would’ve intensified.
Thank you, @ShubmanGill https://t.co/uZNRFHh5Mv
— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) February 4, 2024
Gill rode his luck to reach to the triple-digit score. Resuming their second innings at 28 for no loss, India scored 102 runs in the session with the loss of Rohit Sharma (12), Yashasvi Jaiswal (17), Shreyas Iyer (29) and Rajat Patidar (9).
Gill survived two close DRS calls in successive overs soon after his arrival into the middle to post his first fifty-plus score in 13 innings.
Gill and Shreyas Iyer, both struggling for runs, found themselves in the middle and ended up sharing an 81-run stand off 112 balls.
The India number three was tentative at the start and Anderson’s accuracy made him look more vulnerable. Gill first survived a close lbw call off Tom Hartley with the TV umpiring overturning the on-field decision after spotting an inside edge that the batter himself was not sure about.
In the next over, an incoming ball from Anderson thudded into Gill’s knee roll and on this occasion umpire’s call saved Gill.
It seemed that was the stroke of luck that Gill desperately needed as he grew in confidence from thereon.
With PTI inputs
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