Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri showered praise on Indian skipper Shubman Gill after the young batter slammed a sublime century to help India have a crisp start on day one of the second Test against England at Edgbaston on Wednesday. Gill, who blazed 147 in the series opener, notched up 114 unbeaten from 216 on day one of the second Test, thus bringing up his seventh Test century. He looked determined in his efforts as he quietly took India past 300 to ensure India had a fruitful day.
"I think India will be pretty happy with it, though they will know they need to get another 150 runs from here at least. I think this partnership of 99 (between Gill and Jadeja) has bailed them out. They could've been a spot of bother had England made further inroads once they were 211-5. But I think (the) captain was superb today. It was a disciplined performance, very determined, and he looked very solid,” Shastri said on Sky Sports.
Shastri further lauded Gill, highlighting his solid defence and control in his innings.
"I think the biggest difference, Wadi, is that he's worked on his defence. When he last came to England, you know, he was someone like Virat who played with hard hands, pushed at the ball, now the top hand is in much more control, you know, he allows the ball to come and hit the bat, he's trusting his defence and then we know he has all the shots in the box, he's a lovely driver of the ball, he can pull as well, but just that little work on his defence has done a world of good," Shastri said.
India’s middle order, however, failed to impress with KL Rahul (2), Karun Nair (31), Rishabh Pant (25) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1), losing their wickets without making substantial contributions.