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IND vs ENG 2nd Test: Lucky Gill silences critics with hardworking hundred

Gill, playing his 22nd Test, reached his first fifty-plus score in 13 innings and brought up his 3rd ton. The 24-year-old reached his hundred in 132 balls and nearly batted England out of the game

Shubman Gill of India raises his bat after scoring his 100 runs during the 3rd day of the second test match between India and England at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. Photo: Sportzpics

Shubman Gill of India raises his bat after scoring his 100 runs during the 3rd day of the second test match between India and England at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. Photo: Sportzpics

Abhishek Singh New Delhi

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Shubman Gill, who had not scored a fifty in his last 12 innings in Test cricket, made full use of the luck that favoured him and notched up a brilliant second innings hundred in the second Test against England on Sunday, February 04 in Visakhapatnam (Vizag). 

Fortune favouring Gill

Gill, who missed out on a big score in the first innings, after getting out for 34, was given leg before wicket in the first hour of the third day;’s play against Tom Hartley. However, he reviewed the call after consultation with Iyer and was surprised to find a faint nick of his bat as the ball crashed into his front pad. 

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In the very next over, Gill was hit on the pads once again, this time by Anderson. It looked plumb, but the umpire gave it not out and  England reviewed the call. It came out as “wickets hitting umpire’s call” and Gill survived. In another of Hartley’s overs, Gill nicked one and it fell just away off Root in the first slip. 

Gill makes use of chances

Gill made sure that it was his day as he made use of the three chances and smashed the English spinners all over the park. The 24-year-old, playing his 22nd Test, reached his first fifty-plus score in 13 innings. Gill took just 60 balls to get to that milestone and had Iyer by his side. The dup added 81 for the third wicket to weather out the early storm caused by Anderson. 

But once past the 50-run mark, The Punjab batter continued to show the range of his shoots, hitting leg spinner Rehan Ahmed and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir down the ground and pulling and cutting left-arm spinner Tom Hartley at will. 

Gill and the partnerships 

Shubman Gill made sure that he remained at the other end even as wickets fell from one. After adding 81 with Iyer, Gill went on to add unbeaten 79 runs with Axar Patel for the fifth wicket to enter his 90s in 119 balls. He swept Bashir to get to 94 and then took a double to get to 96. He then dealt in ones and twos to get to his third Test hundred in just 132 balls and nearly bat England out of the match.

How did Gill get out?

Gill was eventually caught by Foakes, attempting his first-ever reverse sweep, as the ball brushed his gloves and England took the on-field call of no-out to the third-umpire, who judged it out. The 89-run stand between him and Axar was broken by Shoaib Bashir. 

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First Published: Feb 04 2024 | 1:24 PM IST

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