India Test captain Shubman Gill has said that the visitors are here to win the series as well as the Test match after recording his second Test century during the current England trip.
Gill’s combination of aggressiveness and prudence in Wednesday’s second Test match against England in Birmingham was impressive. On Day 1 at Stumps, Gill ended his innings with 12 boundaries and an undefeated 114* runs off 216 balls.
Speaking in a video posted by BCCI, Gill stated, “We definitely want to win this Test match and the series.”
Gill kept torturing England with his faultless technique even as India lost wickets one after another. Unfazed, he kept looking for openings to keep the scoreboard moving.
To finish off an unforgettable century in Birmingham, Gill, the youngest Test skipper for India, walloped the ball after sweeping Root behind square to the boundary rope for a four. After Virat, Vijay Hazare, and Sunil Gavaskar, he became the fourth Indian captain to lead his team to hundreds in his first two Test matches.
In addition, he joined batting masters Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin, and Dilip Vengsarkar in conjuring hundreds for India against England in three straight Test matches. With a control of 96.5%, he reached the three-digit numbers and solidified his dominance in Birmingham.
After England captain Ben Stokes placed the 25-year-old Test captain to bat, he stabilized India’s waning innings. Gill and teenage swashbuckler Yashasvi Jaiswal formed a strong 66-run partnership for the third wicket after India was reduced to 95/2.
Gill and Jaiswal were more cautious after losing KL Rahul and Karun Nair, and the Indian captain survived a near-death experience against Chris Woakes. With two boundaries against him in the 33rd over, Gill quickly relieved his burden.
In the opening inning of the series, Gill displayed glimmers of his blazing form. He persisted unfazed, amassing runs one after another, and repaying the management’s faith by smashing his first Test century outside of Asia in 140 balls with 14 fours.
He became the fourth Indian to attain triple digits in the first innings as Test captain, following in the footsteps of greats like Vijay Hazare (1951), Sunil Gavaskar (1976), and Virat Kohli (2014). It’s interesting to note that, as Virat did in Adelaide, Australia, eleven years ago, he reached the 2,000-run Test milestone in his first Test captaincy.
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