The pressure was immense. Batting at a position where Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli made their mark, Shubman Gill had his task cut out. However, the right-handed batter announced himself in style as the India Test captain notched up his first Test century in SENA countries in the first match of the five-game series against England in Headingley, Leeds, on Friday. Batting at No.4, Gill made his intentions clear from the get-go as he played his natural game and did not take any backward step.
Shubman Gill is the fifth Indian to smash a hundred on captaincy debut after Vijay Hazare (against England in Delhi in 1951), Sunil Gavaskar (against New Zealand in Auckland in 1976), Dilip Vengsarkar (against West Indies in Delhi in 1987) and Virat Kohli (against Australia in 2014).
Gill walked out to bat in the second session on Day 1, and he went after the bowling from ball No.1. He did not let the likes of Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes settle as he kept dispatching the loose deliveries for boundaries.
The 25-year-old stitched together a partnership of 129 runs for the third wicket with Yashasvi Jaiswal. The latter brought up his fifth Test ton in the second session. However, he lost his wicket right at the beginning of the third session as his stumps were rattled by England captain Ben Stokes.
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Upon Jaiswal’s loss of wicket, Gill realised that he needed to take on the responsibility. The right-hander mixed caution with aggression in the third and final session, and eventually, he brought up his first century in the SENA countries off 140 balls of the bowling of Josh Tongue.
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As soon as Gill completed his century, the India captain celebrated in his trademark style. He bowed down towards the dressing room and took stock of the applause of the entire Headingley crowd.
Earlier on Day 1, former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, who was on commentary, famously remarked, “There was a king in Test cricket, now there’s a prince.”
Heading into the series against England, there was immense pressure on Gill as his overseas Test record left much to be desired. There were question marks on him being elevated to the captaincy role because of his lack of runs overseas. However, Gill let his bat do the talking and prove all the naysayers and critics wrong.
India dominate on Day 1
England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and asked India to bat first. However, he was made to regret his decision as the visitors made full use of favourable batting conditions.
KL Rahul and Jaiswal put on 91 runs for the opening wicket. Shubman Gill then joined in as India piled on the misery on the hosts.
Sai Sudharsan, making his debut for India, failed to leave a mark as he was strangled down the leg side, and as a result, he had to walk back for a duck. He was dismissed by England captain Stokes.
