India captain Shubman Gill wasn't able to contribute much to his side's total in the first innings of the fourth Test against England. The 25-year-old lost his wicket to opposing skipper Ben Stokes for only 12 runs during the first day at Old Trafford. This was the third consecutive inning of the Test series where Gill couldn't manage to post a score of above 20 runs.
This poor run of form is a stark contrast to the form that Gill had showcased during the first two Tests of the series and had scored three centuries in the first four innings. He especially dominated against the England bowling attack in the second Test at Edgbaston, recording scores of 269 and 161 in the first and second innings respectively.
Manjrekar was left disappointed with Gill's batting display
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar was critical of Gill's batting performance in the fourth Test and pointed out that the batter hasn't been able to look the same since his heated on-fild argument with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett which took place during the third day of Lord's Test.
“Shubman Gill getting out the way he has… he's suddenly become tentative since that incident on Day 3. I'll tell you what, there was an offensive shot he played before. This was a good delivery that came back in, but I'm looking at somebody who scored a ton of runs in the first couple of matches. I don't want to connect this (dismissal) with the incident that happened on Day 3, but suddenly, Shubman Gill is now not getting the scores. This is a bit of a reality check," Manjrekar said on JioHotstar.
"It's not an extended stretch of failure, but he's getting out to defensive shots. I see a bit of tentativeness. Something changed on Day 3. He's a superstar in India, he goes to England, the world is at his feet, and now the world has suddenly changed," he added.
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Meanwhile, India finished Day 1 of the Manchester Test on 264/4 with both Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakkur unbeaten on 19. It was turning out to be a rather strong day for the Men in Blue until Rishabh Pant picked up an injury and was forced to retire hurt for 37 runs. It remains to be seen how far will the visitors manage to take their total on the second day of the match.