After India's shock defeat in the opening game of the ongoing five-match series against England at Hyderabad, the knives were out on the hosts' batting department.
Amongst the batters to face the heat, Shubman Gill topped the list. It had been 11 innings without a fifty-plus score for India's no.3, although all of those games had come away from home. In fact, his previous innings at home prior to the Hyderabad Test had him amassing a century against Australia in Ahmedabad. Nevertheless, the pressure told and it was make-or-break for Gill heading to Vizag. He had to respond, and he did just that. A crucial century under pressure in the second innings got him back to form and he followed up with another vital second innings knock at Rajkot.
When asked about the roller-coaster ride with respect to his form, Gill had a very mature response regarding the criticism that he faced after the first Test.
"There is always disappointment but it was more within myself and regarding my own expectations," said Gill at the press conference. "The outside noise didn't really bother me. What's important in such situations is to make the best use of the next opportunity. You have to forget the past and just focus on the next ball. The difference between a good player and an average player is in how quickly they can forget the previous innings whether good/bad and move forward. Players who are able to do this easily are those who are great players.
"Expectations you always have from yourself. You obviously want to contribute and want to be there for the team as much as possible. I still have the same mindset as I did earlier. It's all about putting the past behind you and reacting to the current situation."
Gill also played down suggestions that the shift from opening the batting to No.3 had a role to play in his lean patch. The 24-year-old admitted that there was a difference in the roles but felt that he had enough experience to adapt to either of the batting positions.
"I have batted at no.3/no.4 for the A side and also in domestic cricket. So it's not something that I haven't done in my life. Not a lot of technical changes that I have done to my game, but yes there is a difference opening and batting at 3. It's different when you are opening the innings, as there is not time to think much. It's you who are setting the tone while if you are batting in the middle order or top order at 3/4, you have to play the situation."
When asked to pick between his 104 at Vizag as opposed to the 91 in Rajkot, Gill had a very straightforward answer. The former had came under pressure, both personal and considering the match situation, and Gill revealed that he was indeed feeling the pinch out in the middle, even if it didn't show in his strokeplay.
"In the Vizag Test, I don't think I could have played any differently even if I was calm and composed. But yes, the feeling I had in that game was different from what I had in other games. In Rajkot, the team was already in a good position when I came to bat. We were leading by 300-plus runs, so considering all that, it was a calm and composed knock."
India have missed several first-choice players to injuries and other factors throughout the series. Virat Kohli opted out prior to the series due to a family emergency and extended his unavailability for the entirety of the series. Gill admitted that the veteran's absence left a massive void in India's batting department but chose to look at the development in a positive light.
"A player like him (Kohli), when absent, is a big miss for any team. But it's been nice to see the others stepping in. For example, Sarfaraz had a good game, I thought he did well. So, these are opportunities for the youngsters to step up."
"If you look at our batting in the first Test, most of our batters got starts. Most of them played at least 50 balls, there were three 90s. So the talk after that game was for our set batters to convert it into bigger scores. If one of the set batters gets a 150 or a 200, it can be significant for the team and the opposition. In India, it's always crucial to score first innings runs as it is hard to predict the nature of the pitch on the last two days."
While the batting department has handled the crisis with aplomb, it will now be the turn of India's bowlers at Ranchi with spearhead Jasprit Bumrah rested as a part of workload management. Gill compared the situation to Kohli's absence from the line-up and sounded confident about his side's flexibility in dealing with the scenario.
"Like we spoke about Virat bhai (Kohli), it's the same for Bumrah. The way he leads our attack is exemplary. But the way Siraj stepped up in the last game and took those four wickets was really good to see. Our bowlers are experienced enough to bowl in these conditions and know to use reverse swing."
Nature of pitches has been a constant talking point for India's home series in recent times. In that context, the three venues so far have witnessed sporting surfaces, although Hyderabad did take sharp turn relatively early in the game. Considering that the series was bound to be decided by spinners, it has come as a pleasant surprise to see the pacers thrive. India's quicks led by Bumrah have done a great job while Mark Wood and James Anderson have also had their moments in the series. Gill pointed at India's pace bowling efficiency as the key factor in their dominance.
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