On Day 4 of India vs Australia’s fourth test match at Ahmedabad, the Men in Blue are looking to shorten Australia’s lead. The visitors put on 480 runs in their first innings, while the Indian side finished Day 3 on 289 runs thanks to Shubman Gill’s brilliant ton.
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes Gill was disappointed after being out, which is a good sign for a young batter looking to score more runs.
Manjrekar however thought Gill doesn’t exceed expectations-
“Not exceeded expectations. This is what was expected of him. But it’s very difficult in India to fulfil expectations because they are generally on the higher side,” the cricketer-cum-commentator said.
Gill scored his second century in test matches and it was his first on home soil in India’s first innings at Ahmedabad. His 128-ball runs included 12 boundaries and one six.
“KL Rahul also had a terrific record, especially when it comes to hundreds overseas. Shubman Gill also had a great to his Test career, getting the 90 in Brisbane,” Manjrekar stated.
“Then he had the hundred in Bangladesh. But, in this match, there was some pressure because he had a quiet game. Runs were needed but the way he got those runs, looked commanding, looked comfortable,” he added.
In the third test of the ongoing BGT 2023 test series, the 23-year-old replaced an out-of-form KL Rahul. Despite the fact that Gill did not score much in the third test match in Indore, Indian captain Rohit Sharma believed in him and chose to play him in Ahmedabad.
Besides, many former cricketers and members of the media have previously criticised Rahul’s underwhelming performances in recent years, particularly in the longer format of the game.
“He started off with a strike rate of over 60, then it went down a bit. Once he knew he had the bowlers on the mat, he did not let go. When he got out, he looked really disappointed. All the great signs… we want to see is for him to have a long, long Test career,” he further added.
With his memorable knock at Ahmedabad, Gill joined an elite group of players who have scored a century in all formats of the game.
While India needs to win the ongoing test match to be assured of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) Final in England. Moreover, in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2023, the ‘Baggy Greens’ has already qualified for the WTC Final in England after avoiding a clean sweep in the series, visitors won the last test match at Indore by nine wickets.