Following India’s win over England in the fourth Test, Indian batter Shubman Gill celebrated the win by sharing some words of motivation from his head coach Rahul Dravid. Indian youngsters Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel’s remarkable effort with the bat took the hosts across the finishing line and clinched the series with a five-wicket victory in the fourth Test against England on Monday. Gill took to Instagram and wrote in his caption: “If not you, then who? If not now, then when?” – Rahul Dravid.”
These words truly reflect with Gill’s present situation as a Test player. The young batter was under scrutiny following a period of slump which saw him not score a fifty-plus score for 12 innings. During this period, he often wasted his good starts and could not convert them into big scores. But during this series and must-win match, it was Gill, often regarded as the future poster-boy of Indian cricket by fans and various former cricketers alike, who delivered a magnificent knock under pressure, showcasing immense maturity and patience when it mattered the most.
Gill has done really well in the series so far, showcasing some consistent scores after a streaky period in Test cricket following a breakthrough outing in Australia back in 2021. In four matches, Gill has made 342 runs in eight innings at an average of 48.85, with a century and two half-centuries. His best score was a knock of 104 in the second Test at Vizag.
This year has been fine for Gill as a Test player, having scored 388 runs in 10 innings across five matches at an average of 43.11, with a century and two fifties.
In what was a must-win Test, England chose to bat first after winning the toss and closed their first innings at 353, riding majorly on a fine comeback century by premier batter and former skipper Joe Root (122* in 274 balls, 10 fours), a half-century from Ollie Robinson (58 in 96 balls, with nine fours and a six) and Ben Foakes (47 in 126 balls, with four boundaries and a six).
Ravindra Jadeja (4/67) and Akash Deep (3/83) were the pick of the bowlers for India.
India were bundled out for 307 in their first innings in reply to England’s 353. Despite Yashasvi Jaiswal (73 in 117 balls, with eight fours and a six) firing once again, India were reduced to 219/7 before Jurel (90 in 149 balls, with six fours and four sixes) joined forces with Kuldeep (28 in 131 balls) to stitch a 76-run stand for the eighth wicket and dragged India past the 300-run mark.
Spinner Shoaib Bashir troubled Indian batters, picking up his maiden five-wicket haul (5/119). Tom Hartley (3/68) and James Anderson (2/48) also registered impressive figures.
The lion-hearted rearguard effort by Jurel, in the company of the lower order, not only lifted India from the dumps but also helped reduce England’s first-innings lead to 46 runs.
In their second innings, England were shot out for just 145 runs, with Zak Crawley (60 in 91 balls, with seven fours) and Jonny Bairstow (30 in 42 balls, with three fours) offering some resistance. Spinners took all the 10 wickets for India, with Ravichandran Ashwin (5/51) and Kuldeep Yadav (4/22) leading the bowling charts for the hosts.
Chasing 192 for an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series, the hosts were off to a fine start, with skipper Rohit Sharma (55 in 81 balls, with five fours and a six) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37 in 44 balls, with five fours) putting on an 84-run opening stand.
However, that was before Bashir brought the visitors back into the game, picking up 3/79 and reducing India to 120/5.
Thereafter, Shubman Gill (52* in 124 balls, with two sixes) and Dhruv Jurel (39* in 77 balls, with two fours) guided India to a series win by five wickets.
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