After sacrificing his opening spot for Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill went through a rough patch and failed to score a half-century in 10 innings. On Day 3 of the second Test in Visakhapatnam, Gill was under pressure again after James Anderson got rid of the openers. Gill did not look comfortable at the crease at the start of the innings. He almost walked off after a Tom Hartley delivery hit him on the front pad but Shreyas Iyer’s call led to the decision getting overturned as Gill didn’t even realise there was a faint inside edge.
“The first one I didn't feel it. Shreyas told me to take it in case it's umpire's call,” he told the broadcaster after the end of day’s play.
The 24-year-old was struggling to rotate strike or find boundaries. He got another reprieve in the next over. Anderson was hitting the right lengths and after three dot balls, he got one to nip back in. The ball hit Gill on the knee roll. However, the umpire gave him not out. England captain Ben Stokes opted for a review but the hawkeye showed that it would have been clipping the top of the middle stump. As a result, the on-field umpire's decision and Gill got a second life when he had scored just four runs.
While Gill's century helped India set a target of 399, he was not happy with the way he lost his wicket. Stokes made a few fielding changes and Gill saw an opportunity to play a reverse sweep. He went for the shot but could not hit the ball with the bat. The ball brushed his gloves and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes took the catch. From 211/4, India were bowled out for 255. Gill felt that he should have stayed there for five to six overs more as it was the end of the second session.
“I saw the point fielder go there and I thought it was a percentage shot. Should've just played the 5-6 overs till tea,” he said.
Before Stumps on Day 3, England were 67/1 with opener Zak Crawley and Nighthawk Rehan Ahmed in the middle. They need 332 more runs to pull off the highest successful run chase on Indian soil.
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