Shubman Gill happy to make No. 3 his own

PTI

VISAKHAPATNAM, February 4

Shubman Gill passed the No. 3 test with a gutsy hundred, repaying the faith the Indian team management showed in him.

After scoring 104 in India’s second innings, Gill was a pleased man. It was his first 50-plus score in 13 innings and the first substantial knock after deciding to move down a place in the batting order. “It was very important and very satisfying for me to be able to score runs at No. 3. It felt pretty good, especially in the situation, when we lost Yashasvi (Jaiswal) and Rohit (Sharma). I think it was important for us to get a big lead and to be able to get as many runs as possible,” said Gill.

Gill knows that the team has high expectations from him and perhaps that is why his celebrations after reaching the landmark were rather subdued. “It felt good. I just thought the job was not done for the team. So, that’s why it was a little mellowed celebration,” he said.

Gill felt England will find it tough to chase down a record 399. “As the game goes on, it will have variable bounce as we saw today. It is not turning as much as the other pitches but it is definitely doing something. It is not easy to score runs. Having said that, the morning session will be very important for us as we have seen there is always a bit of moisture coming at the start of the day. That will be the key for us,” he said.

Will chase it down in 60-70 overs: Anderson

Veteran England pacer James Anderson found India’s batting approach in the second innings cautious. “I think the nerves were there to see today, the way they batted, they didn’t know how many runs were enough. They were quite cautious, even when they had a big lead,” said Anderson.

Anderson seemed supremely confident about his team’s chances in the game. “The chat last night from the coach (Brendon McCullum) was that if they get 600, we were going to go for it. It makes it very clear to everyone that we will try to do it tomorrow. I know there are 180 overs left in the game, but we will try to do it in 60 or 70. That’s the way we play, and we saw that tonight with Rehan (Ahmed) going out and playing his shots,” he said.

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