Shubman Gill is a content man. Why won't he be, too? In the fourth Test of the 5-match series at Manchester, the captain of India put on another brilliant batting show against England, breaking numerous records with a ninth century. More significantly, though, he witnessed two of his all-rounders defy all odds to enable India salvage a draw.
The series stayed alive by centuries from Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. If India win the final Test at The Oval, they will draw the Anderson-Tendulkar series at 2-2.
Although Gill met all of his requirements, the Old Trafford Test will be remembered for the Indian captain's hugely wasted opportunity. Gill did not use Sundar for the first 68 overs in England's first innings as the hosts continued to pile on the runs.
Many, including fans and former cricketers, were perplexed by the move and questioned Gill's judgment. When Sundar was finally called into the fray fifteen minutes before lunch, the discussion picked up momentum. In the second session, Sundar struck twice in quick succession, dismissing Harry Brook and Ollie Pope.
It is unclear what transpired and why. The closest explanation comes from Sundar's response to it, but Morne Morkel mentioned it at the conclusion of Day 3. Washington was persuaded to reveal the information by the broadcasters, but he only revealed one minor item. This is how the discussion unfolded:
Broadcaster: Did your captain forget that you can bowl in the first innings?
Washington Sundar: I'm not giving any headlines this time, followed by laughter from himself, Stuart Broad and Nasser Hussain.
Stuart Broad: You need to work on your tips and hints out there. 'I'm loose, I'm ready to go (imitating warming up).
Broadcaster: You’ve got to catch his eye. You got to start looking at him [Shubman Gill]
Washington Sundar: Most of the times, I am around the square, so I'm sure I cross him every now and then. But yeah, whatever the team needs.
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Why Washington Sundar wasn't given the ball by Shubman Gill earlier?
With openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley scoring at 5.5 runs per over, England got off to a brisk start. Pope and Joe Root continued to score runs even after the partnership ended, making the Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, and debutant Anshul Kamboj useless.
Gill was hesitant to bring on Sundar, but Ravindra Jadeja was given a few overs in between. The fact that Sundar had taken five wickets in the last Test at Lord's made it all the more surprising.
"Shubman just made the call in there to stick a little bit longer with the seam options. I think in the first couple of days we saw the ball moving around and seaming around, and pace on the ball was the way to go, and then when we got the opportunity to bowl, we missed our length. So did we bowl enough good balls to say that we need to go to spin straightaway? I don't think so. And I think when he got the opportunity today with the ball in hand, Washi did a great job for us," India's bowling coach Morkel said.
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