"Once he got to his 50 he was thinking big" - Sanjay Manjrekar praises Shubman Gill for century under pressure in 2nd IND vs ENG Test
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar praised Shubman Gill for his century under pressure on Day 3 of the second Test against England in Vizag.
Despite being among the best white-ball batters over the last year, Gill endured a torrid time with the bat in the red-ball format. With not a single half-century in 11 completed innings since the 128 against Australia last year, Gill's place in the Test side was hanging by a thread.
Yet, the stylish batter overcame early jitters to complete his third Test ton and propel India into a dominant position.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo at stumps on Day 3, Manjrekar was impressed by Gill's ability to not relax after scoring a potentially career-saving half-century and converting it into a three-figure score [0:21].
"What's impressive about Gill was the fact that once he got to his 50 he was thinking big. When you are out of form and actually looking at your place being in doubt for the next Test with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul likely to comeback that fear is always there. And once you get a 50, there is a feeling ' I may play the next match, I've saved my career' for the moment. And you might just relax a bit," Manjrekar said.
With scores of 23,0 and 34 so far in the previous three innings of the series, Gill's place in the side was uncertain for the next match.
Yet, his game-changing knock helped India get into a solid position to level the series, setting England a mammoth target of 399 in their fourth innings.
"India needed somebody to get a big score and he did" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Shubman Gill
Sanjay Manjrekar continued to praise Shubman Gill by calling his second-inning century invaluable to India's cause.
Gill was the only batter in the side's second innings to score even a half-century, with Axar Patel's 45 being the second-highest.
"He went on and scored a very controlled 100 and that is why we have all been excited with Gill that once he got a 50 he made that count. India needed somebody to get a big score and he did. England bowling was not going to be a challenge for Gill. Starting off has been a problem for him whether it was in South Africa or against the English spinners. And he needed a little bit of luck with that leg before," said Manjrekar [0:01].
Gill survived a couple of touch-and-go LBW decisions early in his innings off Tom Hartley and James Anderson before settling into his innings.
Despite his heroics, England are still in the contest, needing another 332 runs with nine wickets in hand to take a 2-0 series lead.