Shubman Gill: The New Face of Indian Test Cricket!
Newz Daddy Cricket Updates
The Young Indian Captain, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal Smashed a Century on The First Day of the First Test
On the opening Test day, Jaiswal and Gill combined to exhaust Ben Stokes’ England thoroughly.
Yashasvi Jaiswal makes Test cricket look so easy. He’s already hit five hundreds, scored over 1,900 runs, and played twenty games, with three of them in other countries. What’s even cooler is that he played in those countries for the first time and hit hundreds there: in the Caribbean (Roseau, 2023), Australia (Perth, 2024), and now England (Leeds).
Life in the fast lane hasn’t been as good for Shubman Gill. He had five hundred from 32 games by Friday, but none were outside of Asia. In fact, he hadn’t made a score of fifty or more in 18 games in the West Indies, England, South Africa, or Australia since hitting 91 in Brisbane in January 2021, during his first series. When he played his first game as India’s 37th Test captain at Headingley, he must have felt the pressure.
On the first day of Indian cricket’s newest big moment, the calm right-handed player and the fast-hitting left-handed player worked together to have a day of amazing control. It must feel really great to play important parts in a total score of 359 runs for three wickets on the first day. After getting out for 101 runs after the tea break, Jaiswal will watch his batting friends from the dressing room. But Gill, who became the fifth Indian to get a hundred in his first game as captain, can make his score of 127 not out even better, which is only one run away from his highest Test score.
In his short talk with reporters on Friday night, Tim Southee, a former captain and fast bowler for New Zealand who now helps the English team with special skills, said “very good surface” more than six times. It’s clear that the cricket pitch is exactly that. Getting the chance to bat on such a good pitch for the first time is one thing, but making the most of that chance is another. Especially because before the game, people talked more about two players who aren’t there anymore—Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who recently stopped playing—than about the other players.
Jaiswal learned to be a Test opener with Rohit. The older, wiser, more skilled, and forward-thinking Rohit saw a special talent in his younger teammate, whose biggest problem might be himself. The captain at the time did everything he could to stop his opening partner from being too sure of himself. It looks like Rohit’s hard work was not wasted.
Shubhman Gill has never had problems with staying focused and doing what’s right. He and his captain were meant for great things when India won the youth World Cup in New Zealand in 2018; this was easy to see from his younger days. Because of his own choices, Prithvi Shaw has been left out. But Gill has moved up steadily, and being made Test captain recently shows that the people in charge trust not only his skills but also his good character and ability to lead people well.
On the first day of the Test match, Jaiswal and Shubhman Gill teamed up to really make Ben Stokes’ England tired. Jaiswal started batting with KL Rahul. Their first 91 runs helped everyone relax, made things clear, and got rid of the bad feelings from the start of the day. Jaiswal hit the ball very hard, making loud cuts when England bowled wide. He also hit beautiful shots straight down the field when bowlers tried to make the ball swing. Rahul was quick and hit great shots through the covers.
Gill bats with the same smooth, relaxed style as Rahul. Gill is great at hitting the ball off his back foot. You can see this when he plays his short, quick pull shot, or when he leans back and hits the ball with his bat almost straight up and down, sending it through the point area. Jaiswal had trouble with cramps in his arms, so Gill took over as captain easily. He started hitting the ball hard without being too fancy or risky.
Gill was super happy when Jaiswal hit his hundred. He must have been a little sad when his partner got out soon after from a great ball by Stokes, ending their 129-run partnership. Gill quickly saw that things had changed. He focused on playing carefully for a short time—just long enough for Rishabh Pant to get comfortable—before he got a new burst of energy and hit his first hundred outside of Asia against Josh Tongue with a very nice cover-drive.
Not bad for his first day as captain of the Test team. Just when someone was about to say, “Great job, Shubman,” he did his special celebration. Is this the captain’s first of many great moments?