4 days ago
23
Shubman Gill said before this game that he was going to focus on his batting, and try to be the leading run-scorer in the series. And you'd have to say he's made quite a start: his 161 in India's second innings took his total in two games to 585. He could break all sorts of records before the series is over.
When India arrived in England, there were two anomalies among their batting stats. The first was that KL Rahul averaged only 33, and we've seen how well he's played so far. The second was Gill's average of 35. It's nearly 43 now – and I can only see it climbing higher.
But just as incredible as the numbers are his concentration levels. Yes, the pitches at Headingley and Edgbaston have both been good for batting, but you still need focus. Look at England's top order, who have been unable to match him.
You also need hunger. Take a stroll round the maidans of Mumbai and you'll see countless young batsmen with ambitions of forging a career at the highest level. In a few years, they'll be ready to take your place.
Look at the teenager Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who whacked a 52-ball century on Saturday for India Under-19s at Worcester. If you're an Indian Test batsman and you don't have hunger, you won't last long.
Gill has that hunger, which is why he turned his first-innings century into 269, and why he was ready to go again when he walked out to bat in the second.
Twenty-five-year-old Shubman Gill is thriving as captain in his first series leading India
Gill has been incredible with the bat at Edgbaston, scoring 269 and then 161 against England
The opening batsman's runs have given India a strong chance to level the series at 1-1
By way of a serious bonus, he has elegance too. I've always looked on in amazement at Indian players and wondered if they're born with a bat in their hands – not just Gill, but Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rahul, and before them Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and countless others. They just look such naturals.
Don't forget, either, that Gill has had to fill the No 4 boots of Kohli and Tendulkar, and he's had to do it in his first series as captain, with questions swirling about how India lost the first Test, and what he's going to do with Jasprit Bumrah.
The move to that position has been good for him, as it gives him a bit more time to get into the game. But because of the identity of the guys who have batted there before, it also comes with extra pressure.
Keith Fletcher always used to say to me how important it was to do your job as a batter. Score runs, and your authority in the dressing-room grows. Do it at the start of your reign, as Gill has done, and you've ticked an important box straightaway.
It's probably helped Gill that Ben Stokes has chosen to bowl first in both games so far. It means Gill has been able to focus on his batting before he's had to think about the captaincy. And in both games he has walked off at stumps on the first evening with a century to his name.
He could hardly have done much more in his fortnight in the job. How England respond to him over the next three Tests could decide the fate of the series.
