CHENNAI: On Friday evening, when Shubman Gill took guard in the second innings against Bangladesh, something seemed different. He had had a poor outing on Thursday — an eight-ball duck where he nicked a nothing delivery down the line — but this time he did not want to waste another opportunity To ensure that, the first thing he did was not to commit to his forward press.
In the first innings, Gill, taking a leg-stump guard while standing way outside the crease, would shuffle across to the middle-stump with his regular forward press before deciding how to play a particular delivery. He continued that through the eight balls he faced. Sometimes moving too much towards off-stump.
In the second innings, however, he stood outside the crease but moved a little back while shuffling and waited till the ball came out of Taskin Ahmed’s hand before deciding on the shot. It might seem as a minor adjustment but it worked. Gill had ensured that he was not committing to a particular shot and waited a trifle more.
Whether it was Taskin or Hasan Mahmud or Nahid Rana, Gill continued the same approach throughout. And it is not just about staying crease and playing it late, the 25-year-old, even when he got on the front foot, did not go for his usual powerful drives and flicks.
He played them with soft hands, and picked up the gaps as much as possible. To understand his execution, one has to look at his boundaries against pace — a couple of punches though off-side, two pull shots and a short-arm jab, all came off the backfoot as Gill raced to his fifty 50-plus score of the year in the longest format.
If Gill was staying in the crease against pace, he did the opposite to spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz. He jumped out and hit them down the ground and over midwicket, putting his long reach to good use. The occasional sweep came into play as well, but predominantly it was about a solid defence on front foot. He used his feet to get those boundaries — five fours and four sixes. In his own words, Gill wanted to put value on his wicket and was not rushed even when Rishabh Pant raced past him to a century. He spent time in the middle and the century — fifth overall and third in 2024 — came with a nudge wide of midwicket in 161 deliveries. He remained not out on 119 when India declared at 287/4 in the second session.
Although the century celebration was subdued —- his typical raising of the bat and a bow — Gill knew this one was special. After expressing interest to move down to No 3, the 25-year-old wanted to make the position his own and he did so even during the England series — 452 runs at 56.5 average, including two centuries. However, he did not want it to be a one series show and was keen on maintaining his consistency.
“It is very rewarding,” Gill said after the day’s play. “I think the series that I had against England gave me a lot of confidence. I felt it was a long time coming for me, especially batting at that position (No. 3). Having got out the way I got out in the first innings, I was obviously very disappointed. But as a batter, you can't do anything about it. But it further motivated me to be able to spend a lot of time on the crease and put extra value on my wicket.”
Since making his Test debut in Melbourne three years ago, Gill has grown leaps and bounds as a batter. While he is yet to make a mark in the shortest format, the youngster has the third-most runs across formats since his Test debut behind Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. He has 12 centuries, more than anyone else and has even captained Gujarat Titans in the IPL. It comes as no surprise that the team management and selectors felt that Gill could be leading India in the future when they named him captain for the Zimbabwe tour and vice-captain for Sri Lanka trip. They know he is not fully there yet but at the same time want him to learn and be ready as and when the need arises.
Though this year, Gill has shown enough signs of not just learning, but also executing and growing as a batter as well as an allround cricketer. But even he knows he could do a lot more. Which is why, when asked if he feels like he is in his best phase as a batter, the answer was: “I feel the best is yet to come. Definitely.” Indeed, and the Chennai century was another example that he is on the right track.