Manchester, July 27 (IANS) Despite Shubman Gill falling for 103 on the stroke of lunch during day five’s play in the ongoing fourth Test against England, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has lauded the Indian skipper for standing up for the side in the toughest moments of the series.
Gill had come out to bat on a hat-trick ball in the first over of India’s second innings on day four, but stood up with his patience and gritty nature hit 103 off 238 balls, laced with 12 boundaries. It was his ninth Test hundred and fourth of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series.
He has now tied with legendary batters Don Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar for most centuries as captain in a Test series, whilst also becoming the first player to hit four hundreds in their debut Test series as captain. The knock of 103 also marked the first time that Gill took more than 200 balls to score a Test century.
"He was in at 0-2, and he's a young captain trying to make his mark. When the opportunity arose for him to stand up with the bat, he's done it again. He has done a terrific job so far during the series."
"He's a quality player, make no mistake about it. He's elegant and very stylish with the way he goes about it... and he has an immense love for batting. When the moments in this series have been the toughest, he's stood up for India, " said Ponting on Sky Sports’ broadcast during lunch break.
Ravi Shastri, the former India head coach, lauded Gill and England captain Ben Stokes for their gritty display of skills and temperament in the first session. "Test cricket at its best. It's a tough game and it's there for the tough ones to stand up when the occasion demands - like Gill and Stokes."
"Stokes was pinching his shoulder, holding his hamstring, but the ball was coming out beautifully. He bowled for over an hour in that first session of play and got KL Rahul out. He looked like the one bowler making the ball talk on this surface, " he said.
With two more sessions to go, India are at 223/4 in 89 overs and trail England by 88 runs. The visitors’ have an arduous task on their hands to save the match and stop England from clinching a series at Old Trafford.
What also makes India’s task tougher is vice-captain Rishabh Pant will be coming out to bat with a broken right foot sustained during day one’s play. "I'd be sending Pant out next, that's what I would do. He's got an injury that makes it sound like he won't play next week anyway, albeit there's a chance it gets worse if he gets hit on the same foot again."
"You could look at it two ways: if he goes out to bat, will it hinder their run-scoring? Maybe it does, so maybe they send Shardul (Thakur) in next and then Rishabh after that. But I'd send Rishabh. I think he's better equipped against the newer ball and will combat that better than Shardul might, " concluded Ponting.