Former India cricketer-turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar feels captain Shubman Gill will be back to his best in the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford, Manchester. Gill didn’t have memorable outings in the third Test at Lord’s as he got dismissed for 16 and 6 in the two innings respectively.
As a result, India ended up losing the match by 22 runs and are now trailing by 1-2 in the five-match series. With an eight-day gap between the third and fourth Test, Manjrekar feels it will allow Shubman Gill to have some introspection and allow him to shift focus back on the game.
“I believe he has the ability to carry forward his form. During this break, perhaps with some introspection and conversations with his friends and father about the recent altercation. He just needs to focus on his captaincy, fielding, tactics, and batting. If he does that, I believe the run-making machine that was once in motion is well-oiled and will start running again at Old Trafford,” Manjrekar told JioHotstar.
Furthermore, Manjrekar commented on India’s batting performance at Lord’s and said that the team fared well in the first innings despite no contribution from Gill wh,ich is a great sign.
“His role is important, but India will also reflect on the fact that in the third Test match at Lord’s, there was no contribution from Gill with the bat. Despite that, India’s batting line-up still managed to challenge England. So, that’s a good takeaway – we are not completely dependent on Gill,” he added.
Gill is in the form of his life ever since taking up the leadership duties as he’s the leading run scorer in the series so far, having accumulated 607 runs from three matches. He started the series with a magnificent innings of 147 in the first Test at Headingley, Leeds and followed it up with knocks of 269 and 161 in the two innings respectively at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
As a result, he etched his name in the record books, registering the second-highest match aggregate in a Test of 430 runs and was also adjudged Player of the Match in India’s 336-run victory. Hence, after his failure at Lord’s, Gill will be hungry to bounce back in style with a big score in the fourth match in Manchester set to be played from July 23 and help India make a comeback in the series.
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