Shubman Gill made the most of the opportunity handed to him in Rohit Sharma’s absence by bringing up his maiden Test hundred in Chattogram.
Gill, opening alongside KL Rahul with Rohit missing out due to injury, scored 110 during India’s second essay on Day 3 of the first Test against Bangladesh at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. His knock, which contained 10 fours and three sixes, helped the visitors declare on 258/2, setting a sizeable 513-run target for the Bangla Tigers.
Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja was among those congratulating Gill on achieving the milestone but he also cautioned the Gujarat Titans batter to stay grounded after the ton and remain focussed on the road ahead.
Jadeja, incidentally, cited Prithvi Shaw as an example of a batter who shone high early in his career, only to later fall down the pecking order.
“A century in Test cricket is a very big moment. I don’t even know how it feels… You can talk about the pressure or the wait for that, Shubman Gill needs to savour that moment,” Jadeja was quoted as saying by broadcaster Sony Sports.
“I hope his wagon will only move ahead from here because this guy has shown that he is not one of those who have gone back after scoring one. Prithvi Shaw is also his age group, he scored a century in his first Test but he is not even around at the moment. So just like that wagon has gone back, this wagon is steadily moving ahead.”
Shaw scored 134 on Test debut against the West Indies in October 2018 and followed it up with scores of 70 and 33 not out in the subsequent match. However, he had suffered an injury prior to the 2018-19 tour of Australia, for which he was widely expected to open, resulting in the youngster missing out on crucial opportunities. Shaw would feature in both Tests in the 2020 tour of New Zealand and have a poor outing in the disastrous Adelaide Test of the 2020-21 tour of Australia.
Gill, meanwhile, has asserted himself as the first person the Indian team management would look towards should either of their first-choice openers — skipper Rohit or his deputy KL Rahul — get injured.
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