Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri hailed captain Shubman Gill after he scored an unbeaten knock of 114 runs on the opening day of the second Test match against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Wednesday. India was put into bat by Ben Stokes, and Gill once again played a captain’s knock.

Gill looked solid in his defence and showed all the patience as he batted at the top of his game. The right-hander had a control percentage of 96 and scored back-to-back centuries while leading the team. 

Shastri noted that Gill has worked hard on his defence and it is palpable in his batting. Gill struck a dozen fours and played a key role in helping India finish the opening day at 310-5.

Ravi Shastri said on Sky Sports, “Gill’s performance was superb. It was disciplined, he looked solid, looked fantastic. He has worked hard on his defence. When he last came to England, he played with hard hands, pushed at the ball, but now, the top hand is in control. He allows the ball to come to him, trusts in his defence and has all the shots in the book when he goes on the attack.”

After losing the toss, Gill also admitted that he would have also liked to bowl first against England. However, former England captain Michael Vaughan feels India can beat England by batting first.

Vaughan said as quoted by BBC Sport, “Shubman Gill said he’d have bowled but I think this is the way India can beat England – if they score 450. India should’ve won the first Test match if they held their chances. India are doing what they need to do to win this game. England bowled well enough to get two or three more wickets but the rub of the green with the umpire’s calls has gone the way of India. This is a flat wicket and there’s not a lot there for the seamers or spinners and England should score a lot on here if it doesn’t crack.”

Gill will look to add more to his overnight score on the second day.