Shubman Gill reveals "key" moment which could dictate outcome of second Test
Feb 04, 2024
Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], February 4 : India batter Shubman Gill feels that the morning session on Day 4 will play a "key" role in deciding the outcome of the second Test against England.
Gill defied his critics on Day 3 and played a mesmerising knock of 104 to score his third Test ton and hand India firm control of the clash. With nine wickets in hand, England need 332 runs to go two up in the series.
"I think it's 70-30 at the moment. The morning session will be key. We've seen there is moisture in the morning and help for fast bowlers and spinners," Gill said after the end of Day 3.
During his time on the crease, the 24-year-old took the onus of scoring the majority of the runs while Patel played the anchor role, steering the flow of the game and rotating strike on every available opportunity.
With simplicity in his approach, Shubman used his feet to get runs on the board and raised his bat for his third Test ton.
He went on to talk about the initial scare he survived in Tom Hartley's over in the beginning hours of the day.
He got trapped in front of the stumps and didn't expect that there was any bat involved. Gill decided to go for a DRS review and the replay showed there was an edge that came to his rescue.
"Definitely very pleased but I left a bit out there, to be honest. The first one I didn't feel it (inside edge onto the pad). Shreyas told me to take it in case it was the umpire's call. 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. Pretty decent wicket to bat on. Not an easy kind of wicket to hit on the rise. Have to apply yourself because the odd one is turning and odd one is keeping low," Gill added.
He eventually lost his wicket to debutant Shoaib Bashir while attempting to play a reverse sweep shot.
India posted a total of 255 and set a target of 399 runs for England to chase with two days left to play.
