Shubman Gill faced his biggest challenge of the day from within. Yashasvi Jaiswal, not offering a chance all of the first day, had cruised to 173 and after a good night’s rest had set himself up to feast. There were fans who woke up wondering if this was the day they would see a third Indian Test triple centurion.
Jaiswal, calm at the crease, showed that he was human in the one way that he has not been able to master. Playing a shot, Jaiswal sets off immediately, almost unconsciously, and when his partner turns down a run, as Gill did, he’s often halfway down the pitch. Jaiswal was on 175 when he had to trudge off, leaving Gill with his thoughts.
It’s natural to feel the stress of the moment. After all, it was technically Jaiswal’s call on whether to take that run or not even if Gill was perfectly justified in turning down the invitation. Gill had called early but Jaiswal had hit the ball so well to the fielder that he had no chance of regaining his crease.
Gill would have been forgiven for thinking, as many batsmen do, that he now had to score Jaiswal’s runs, on top of his own. But, remarkably, he barely altered his approach. The hallmark of someone who can control his mind is not that he does not feel, but that he recognises it, quickly puts it behind him, and focus on what is ahead.
In that sense, it is no different from Gill playing and missing at a swinging or seaming ball on a fresh pitch and walking away to take a breath before regaining composure and getting ready to address the next ball. Gill was his usual compact self, almost appearing as though he was playing within himself. The gorgeous shots were all on and the bowling was not of the kind that would test him in these conditions.
India stayed true to their plan of giving Nitish Reddy as much Test-match time as possible, sending him at No. 5. Reddy, like all the batsmen who came before him, was quick to suss out the conditions and settle into a good rhythm. He offered one chance early, hitting to mid-off, but when it was put down, he looked set to make the most of the opportunity.
Batting with freedom, Nitish was motoring to a half-century when he was caught in the deep attempting to hit the third six of his innings.
Gill batted as though enjoying an open net session, picking off the ones and twos with deft touches that all but ruled out risk. When he got to three figures, for the fifth time in seven Test matches, there was an air of inevitability. Gill, for his part, did not celebrate wildly, and the feeling was more of relief, of a job well done. Gill was on 129 when he decided India, at 518 for 5, had enough. In that sense, Gill’s innings did not even seem like an individual one. Beautiful as it was, and significant as it was, it was just another building block towards India posting a big first-innings score with a view to not batting again in the game.
It turned out to be the right call at the right time. West Indies batted with application and determination that was visibly absent in the first Test in Ahmedabad but their top order, unused as they are to batting time, could not capitalise. 87 for 1 turned to 140 for 4 by the end of the day. India still had 378 first-innings runs in the bag.
Gill’s captaincy, initially formulaic, has grown increasingly more intuitive. He shuffles his bowlers in unpredictable ways and sets fields that allow them to work with experimental plans. With batsmen you can tell when someone is in form. Not just by the runs scored but by their manner at the crease. They are settled, not fidgety and allowing the ball to come to them.
With captaincy it is harder to tell. With Gill, when he was appointed Test captain, the concern was that his batting average was far below expectation. The added pressure of captaincy could have made it worse. But instead, it seems to have brought out the best in him. It was as though he was waiting to be anointed and when that happened it unlocked something in his mind. The runs are flowing for now, but Gill knows a time will come when they won’t. Even then, he understands that his leadership and captaincy will do enough for the Indian team.
BRIEF SCORES: India 518 for 5 dec (Jaiswal 175, Gill 129*; Warrican 3/98) lead West Indies 140 for 4 (Athanaze 41; Jadeja 3/37) by 378 runs
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com)
Jaiswal, calm at the crease, showed that he was human in the one way that he has not been able to master. Playing a shot, Jaiswal sets off immediately, almost unconsciously, and when his partner turns down a run, as Gill did, he’s often halfway down the pitch. Jaiswal was on 175 when he had to trudge off, leaving Gill with his thoughts.
It’s natural to feel the stress of the moment. After all, it was technically Jaiswal’s call on whether to take that run or not even if Gill was perfectly justified in turning down the invitation. Gill had called early but Jaiswal had hit the ball so well to the fielder that he had no chance of regaining his crease.
Gill would have been forgiven for thinking, as many batsmen do, that he now had to score Jaiswal’s runs, on top of his own. But, remarkably, he barely altered his approach. The hallmark of someone who can control his mind is not that he does not feel, but that he recognises it, quickly puts it behind him, and focus on what is ahead.
In that sense, it is no different from Gill playing and missing at a swinging or seaming ball on a fresh pitch and walking away to take a breath before regaining composure and getting ready to address the next ball. Gill was his usual compact self, almost appearing as though he was playing within himself. The gorgeous shots were all on and the bowling was not of the kind that would test him in these conditions.
India stayed true to their plan of giving Nitish Reddy as much Test-match time as possible, sending him at No. 5. Reddy, like all the batsmen who came before him, was quick to suss out the conditions and settle into a good rhythm. He offered one chance early, hitting to mid-off, but when it was put down, he looked set to make the most of the opportunity.
Batting with freedom, Nitish was motoring to a half-century when he was caught in the deep attempting to hit the third six of his innings.
Gill batted as though enjoying an open net session, picking off the ones and twos with deft touches that all but ruled out risk. When he got to three figures, for the fifth time in seven Test matches, there was an air of inevitability. Gill, for his part, did not celebrate wildly, and the feeling was more of relief, of a job well done. Gill was on 129 when he decided India, at 518 for 5, had enough. In that sense, Gill’s innings did not even seem like an individual one. Beautiful as it was, and significant as it was, it was just another building block towards India posting a big first-innings score with a view to not batting again in the game.
It turned out to be the right call at the right time. West Indies batted with application and determination that was visibly absent in the first Test in Ahmedabad but their top order, unused as they are to batting time, could not capitalise. 87 for 1 turned to 140 for 4 by the end of the day. India still had 378 first-innings runs in the bag.
Gill’s captaincy, initially formulaic, has grown increasingly more intuitive. He shuffles his bowlers in unpredictable ways and sets fields that allow them to work with experimental plans. With batsmen you can tell when someone is in form. Not just by the runs scored but by their manner at the crease. They are settled, not fidgety and allowing the ball to come to them.
With captaincy it is harder to tell. With Gill, when he was appointed Test captain, the concern was that his batting average was far below expectation. The added pressure of captaincy could have made it worse. But instead, it seems to have brought out the best in him. It was as though he was waiting to be anointed and when that happened it unlocked something in his mind. The runs are flowing for now, but Gill knows a time will come when they won’t. Even then, he understands that his leadership and captaincy will do enough for the Indian team.
BRIEF SCORES: India 518 for 5 dec (Jaiswal 175, Gill 129*; Warrican 3/98) lead West Indies 140 for 4 (Athanaze 41; Jadeja 3/37) by 378 runs
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com)
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