Shubman Gill wants to keep his verbal exchange with James Anderson 'private' after Day 2 of India vs England 5th Test
Indian batter Shubman Gill continued his rich vein of form in the ongoing Test series against England with a fantastic hundred on Day 2 of the fifth Test at Dharamsala on Friday, March 8.
One of the highlights of Gill's 110-run knock was when he stepped out and smashed James Anderson straight over his head. It was so well-timed and unexpected that even England skipper Ben Stokes was impressed.
In an interaction with the host broadcaster after the end of play on Day 2, Shubman Gill was asked about the details of the short exchange of words he had with James Anderson after that shot. Gill cheekily denied revealing the conversation and replied:
"I think it would be better for both of us to keep that chat in private (smiles)."
Gill explained his thought process behind stepping out against Anderson, saying he wanted to disturb the veteran pacer's length. He claimed it was just an instinctive decision to go for that shot. James Anderson eventually got Gill clean bowled, but not before the right-hander put India in a strong position.
Shubman Gill is hopeful he made his father proud
Shubman Gill's father had also been his coach since childhood and was in attendance when his son smashed his fourth Test hundred in Dharamsala. Gill shed light on how it was his father's dream to see him play for India and hoped that he was proud of what his son had achieved.
On this, Gill stated:
"This was my father's dream to see me play at this level. It was his vision. So I hope he would be proud of my performance today. I feel I missed out on a big one today. Even the ball that I got out to, I felt I didn't sight that ball properly. But apart from that, I'm feeling good and hopefully, everytime I go out there I will be able to."
India ended Day 2 on 473/8 and are 255 runs ahead of England's first-innings score of 218. The visitors still need to clean up the tail early on Day 3 and then bat out of their skins to make a comeback in the game.