Former Australian batter Greg Chappell was impressed with the way Shubman Gill batted and captained in the opening Test match against England at Leeds, Headingley. Gill was leading India for the first time at the top level and he did a decent job despite the team’s five-wicket loss.
The flamboyant batter led from the front as he scored a fine knock of 147 runs in the first innings and batted at the top of his game. Gill also added a brilliant alliance of 209 runs with his deputy Rishabh Pant in the first essay. But, Gill was dismissed after scoring only eight runs in the second dig.
Chappell said at a promotional event in Mumbai on Wednesday as quoted by Cricbuzz, “It was a terrific Test match. Sadly, India didn’t finish up on the correct side, but there were a lot of good things that they did. Shubman Gill had a great start to his career as a Test match captain. As a player, maybe the result didn’t go the right way, but conditions were probably better for him on the last day than they were at any other stage in the Test match.
The former Indian head coach added Gill and the team management would have learned a lot despite the loss.
Chappell added, “So he will have learned a lot from that. The Indian think tank will have learned a lot from what happened in the Test match. He will only get better and better as a captain. Had the team taken a few more catches and, maybe, if the tail had wagged a bit stronger in both innings, the result could have been very different. But I think there are four Test matches to go. Let’s wait and see, but I think he made a very good start as captain.”
On the other hand, Gill rued the missed opportunities in the opening Test after the loss. India could not take their chances in the field as they dropped eight catches and also suffered two major batting collapses.
Gill said in the post-match presentation, “We were thinking that we’re going to give [England a target of] around 430, 435 and then declare. But, unfortunately, I think our last six wickets scored around 20-25 [31] runs, which is never a good sign. But even today [Tuesday], I thought after their brilliant opening partnership, we did have our chances and just didn’t go our way in this match.”
The second Test match between India and England will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham from July 2nd onwards.
