Shubman Gill did wonders in the fifth Test match of India vs England going on in London, in the first session of the first day on Thursday, Gill broke the 47-year-old record of the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
Gill, who is captaining India in Tests for the first time, showed why he is the BCCI’s first choice by spitting fire with the bat.
Record-Breaking Moment
Gill has performed brilliantly in this series against England. In 1978-79, Gavaskar scored 732 runs in a Test series as captain against the West Indies.
Gill needed only 11 runs to break this record. Then what, Gill left Gavaskar behind by hitting a brilliant four off Jamie Overton.
Gill hit the back of the length ball towards the covers and scored 11 runs in 17 balls.
Gill was unbeaten on 15* off 23 balls till lunch, and India’s score was 72/2. Along with him, Sai Sudarshan was also at the crease with 25* off 67 balls. Gill is now just 38 runs away from another big record of Gavaskar.
Gavaskar had scored 774 runs against West Indies in 1971, and Gill is close to breaking this record.
What’s at Stake?
India is trailing 1-2 in this series. If India wins this last Test under Gill’s captaincy, the series will be drawn.
Gill has scored 737* runs in 8 innings in this series at an average of 90.25, which includes four centuries. Both his captaincy and batting have caught everyone’s attention.
However, another highlight of the day was a wrong decision by umpire Kumar Dharmasena. There was an LBW appeal against Sai Sudharsan off Josh Tongue’s bowling, but Dharmasena signalled “inside edge” to save England from having to take a review.
Former England captain Michael Atherton expressed his displeasure and said,
“India will say we want England to burn their review.”
This mistake could have been disastrous for India, but Gill and Sudharsan managed the innings.
Now, Gill’s eyes are on Gavaskar’s record of 774 runs. If he breaks it, it will be a historic achievement in his first series as captain.
