If Shubman Gill goes on to have a long and successful innings as the India captain, he will perhaps always be thankful to Birmingham for giving him the wings of confidence with which he can aspire to soar higher.
There were doubts whether this young Indian team under a young captain would be able to stand up to the challenges of English conditions. The absence of seniors, many said, would hurt this team. But second game into the five-match series and no one would dare question the abilities of this team.
India played well in the first Test too, in Leeds, even though they lost that game. But in the second game, at Edgbaston in Birmingham, Team India became a different beast. Inspired by their skipper’s superlative batting performance, the India bowlers, especially Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj, charged in tirelessly to gift the team a series-levelling 336-run win.
Gill talked of the planning and the execution that went into the statement-making victory.
“All the things we spoke about after the last game, we were spot on with all of those things. I think the way we came back with our bowling and fielding was tremendous to see. On this kind of wicket, we knew that if we got 400-500 runs, it would be enough. Not every game will be like Headingley,” the captain, who was also adjudged the Player of the Match, said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Though it’s still his early days as the Team India captain, Gill spoke like an experienced skipper, who did not forget to praise even his least effective bowler in the game.
“They were magnificent,” Gill said of his bowlers. “The way we were able to get through their top order, they bowled brilliantly. Even Prasidh (Krishna), he didn’t get as many wickets, but he bowled brilliantly.”
Prasidh toiled hard, but his match figures of 1/111 stood in stark contrast to those of his fellow pacers — Akash Deep (10/187) and Mohammed Siraj (7/127).
Speaking about Akash, Gill said: “He hit the right lengths and was getting the ball to move both ways, which was difficult on a pitch like this. He was magnificent for us.”
The match will also be remembered for Gill’s batsmanship. With scores of 269 and 161 in the match, Gill has made the entire world sit up and applaud. The 25-year-old said that his batting helps him in his captaincy.
“I am definitely feeling comfortable with my game and if we are able to win the series with my contributions, it’ll be great.
“As I said before, I want to play as a batsman, and go out as a batsman and make decisions as a batsman. Sometimes you won’t take some risks when you’re thinking as a captain, which you have to do as a batsman,” Gill explained.
While confirming that Jasprit Bumrah will be back in the playing XI for the next Test, at Lord’s, Gill said that as a captain he is looking forward to leading the team at the prestigious venue. “No bigger honour than to captain your country in a Test match at Lord’s.”
England captain Ben Stokes did not think his decision to bowl first was completely incorrect.
“It’s a tough one. As I said, when you have them on 200 for 5 (in the first innings) you’d be happy, but as the game got deeper and deeper, it suited India more than us.”
