‘It is really satisfying and pleasing’- Shubman Gill opens up about scoring Test century in front of his dad

The 2nd Test between India and England is moving forward to an exciting day of play with England coming out to chase a mammoth target of 399 runs in the fourth innings. England were 67 for 1 at the end of Day 3 and it will require a herculean effort from the English batters to chase down such a big target on a Day 4 subcontinent pitch.

But if only there’s one team that has the slightest chance of getting this target, it is this present England team, who can chase down any target with their aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach. After getting a significant lead of 143 runs in the first innings, India were set to put up a huge fourth innings in front of England on a decent batting surface but James Anderson had other plans. He dismissed both the Indian openers in quick succession and again put the Indian batting line in a tricky position. 

It was a Shubman Gill show in the 2nd Innings

Now the onus of getting India out of trouble was on the out-of-form Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer who put up an 80-run stand to get India out of jail. Gill finally woke up from his slumber in test cricket and brought out his 3rd test century after a string of low scores in the longest format of the game.

Incidentally, Shubman Gill’s father was also present in the stands and Gill also acknowledged his father’s presence and his contribution to his cricketing life. In a video posted by the Indian Cricket Board after the day’s play, Shubman Gill said, “It is satisfying and pleasing. He is someone who has always supported me and seen my journey. It was great to score runs in front of him. My father told me to back my instincts and play the way I am playing."

The stylish young batter also accepted his poor show with the bat in the last few matches and said that it was always important for him to back his instincts which will give him the best chance to succeed at this level.

Gill said, “It feels good. The first 15-20 minutes were tense, with two referrals going my way. But I think when you are not scoring runs for three to four matches, you need that bit of luck. I think I got that. I am very happy that I was able to convert it into a hundred," said Gill.

"But it is important to stay true to yourself, your basics, and what got you here. If you change your way of play, it is only going to prolong your best innings and best chance to get your big one," he concluded.