IND vs ENG: Gill-ed It! Shubman’s 269 a masterclass in patience, discipline and Punjabi grit

TimesofIndia.com in Birmingham: "I felt I could have, now looking back at it… the kind of shot I played, I felt I could have batted a little bit more," Shubman Gill had said on the eve of the second Test when asked about the lessons from the Leeds defeat. Even after scoring a flowing 147 on Test captaincy debut, the right-hander carried the feeling of dissatisfaction. He wanted more. He has always wanted more.

Even as a youngster slogging it out in the U-16 age-group circuit in Punjab, Gill was pulled up by his father Lakhwinder Singh for not converting a hundred into a big one. Even a double wasn't celebrated at home as the Gills felt the triple was there for the taking. That feeling of never being satisfied has always been there, right from his preparation to eventual outings in the middle. Even after the hundred versus England in Vizag last year, the youngster was worried about facing his father who would have surely given him an earful for getting out while playing a reverse-sweep.

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So it was quite natural that his concentration and application was 200 percent when he took guard on Day 2 of the Edgbaston Test with Ravindra Jadeja at the other end. With the pitch not playing any tricks, all Gill had to do was bat normally and just stay out there. There were far too many traps - for the mistimed drive, the bumper - laid by Ben Stokes but the 25-year-old was ready with astute responses.



The template of standing way outside the crease to Chris Woakes continued and he used the depth of the crease while facing Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Stokes. One confident stride at a time, he went past 150, cruised past 200, breached 250 and was looking set for a triple before he miscued his bread and butter shot - the trademark pull - to Ollie Pope in the ring. Prior to that shot, he exercised a lot of control in what was a flawless 269-run knock.

There were no wild celebrations when he crossed 150 and 250 as just a raise of the bat followed but the emotions clearly got the better of him when he went past the 200-run mark. This was the first time he climbed Mt. 200 in Indian whites and two punches in the air later, the helmet came off, arms went up in celebration before he went down on one knee to swing the helmet one more time. It almost felt like he forgot his signature bow but he didn't, and acknowledged the applause for what was a terrific knock.



Conditions were ideal to bat and Gill ensured there was no lapse in concentration this time around. He focussed hard, stuck to his strengths and became the first Indian batter to score a 250+ outside the sub-continent. He also ended the long wait of a double hundred by an Indian batter in England and went past Sunil Gavaskar's 50-year-old record of highest score (221) by an Indian batter here.


The way he was batting, the Virender Sehwag's individual score of 309 and even the 319 was very much in sight. The chanceless hand switched to cruise control and he was now reaping rewards for the discipline shown on the opening day and the second morning of the Test. The bat was close to the pad, the footwork remained assured and his forward defence remained rock solid. England bowlers toiled hard but couldn't breach his defence, struggled to flirt with his edges and weren't able to induce a false shot.

It was a knock which would have given both captain and batter Gill a lot of satisfaction, and he would now hope the feeling remains mutual when Gill Sr rings him at the end of day's play. Yet, there might be a sense of disappointment. Not because he fell short of a triple hundred but because of the shot which ended his marathon knock. A shot the Gills had mastered by spending hours on cemented tracks.

As far as Gill is concerned, the 25-year-old will remember this for a very long time because it surely helped him walk the "I want to be the best batter in the series" talk.
Catch Lovlina Borgohain's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 5. Watch Here