Chennai: The standout feature about Shubman Gill’s brilliant century against Bangladesh in the opening Test was his ever-growing confidence against spin, something which a majority of the current generation is perceived to be having trouble with unlike the batting legends of the yore.
The 25-year-old Punjabi too was categorised into the ones who had difficulty in playing slow bowling, especially following the twin failures in the opening Test against England in Hyderabad at the start of the year.
England’s spinning quartet of Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed and Joe Root ran rings around Indian batters and Gill too looked at sea, his tendency to play with hard hands and the lack of footwork cooking his goose. But not for nothing is Gill tipped to not only to take over the crown from ‘King’ Virat Kohli as the next Indian batting superstar but seen as a future captain too.
Gill showed he can learn his lessons quickly — hallmark of a good batter — as he scored a brilliant 104 in the second Test before hitting a 110 in the final game at Dharamsala to amass 452 runs in 9 innings. He played with soft hands and very importantly, used his feet exceptionally to get to the pitch of the ball quickly.
Those traits were once again visible in the 119 not out off 176 balls (10x4, 4x6) he scored at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Bangladesh skipper unleashed Mehidy Hasan Miraz early on in the third day itself and Gill never allowed the off-break bowler to settle down.
He repeatedly kept charging down the track, got to pitch of the ball very early and then chose whether to play the aerial one or drive it straight down the ground depending on the flight. It was throwback to the old Indian style of spin-bowling batting.
More importantly, the decision making was spot-on almost every delivery. It showed how comfortable he is now in tackling spin, especially in home conditions. The knock also showed he’s determined to make the No. 3 slot — something which he asked the management for at the start of the West Indies series in July last year — his own with another gem of a knock.
Gill then revealed that he’s been using his feet for spinners since he was a kid and he’s just employing lessons from his childhood. “Actually it's something that I started practicing when I was very young because I was always a tall guy, so it was easier for me to be able to use my feet and play along the ground,” he said.
“Playing in the air and hitting sixes actually came a bit later when I got a little bit more power in my body but initially when I used to practice, especially against spinners, it used to be a lot more about me stepping down, trying to rotate because it's then hard for bowlers to settle on a wicket like this where the odd one is turning but not all the balls are turning.”
Gill also said a strong start to the series will give him a lot of confidence for the long season ahead.
“I feel like the best is yet to come, definitely,” he averred.