‘Badly Executed’: Sunil Gavaskar Criticises Shubman Gill's Poor Shot Selection On Day 2 Of IND vs ENG 1st Test

Resuming from an overnight score of 14, Shubman Gill was caught at mid-wicket on 23, falling victim to England's debutant spinner Tom Hartley after playing a rash shot against the turning delivery.

Shubman Gill dejectedly walking off the ground after his dismissal during the second day of the first IND vs ENG Test match in Hyderabad

Source : PTI

India have dominated England at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in the first India vs England match of the five-match Test series. After managing a score of 246 runs, largely due to Captain Ben Stokes' resilient 70, England struggled against the Indian batters, allowing India to reach 421-7 by the end of day 2. However, India's number three batter, Shubman Gill, faced difficulties and succumbed to yet another low score, falling victim to England's debutant spinner Tom Hartley. Former cricketer turned commentator Sunil Gavaskar did not hold back in criticising Gill for his performance while commentating for the match.

On the fifth ball of the 35th over, Hartley delivered a tempting delivery on Gill's pads. The right-hander attempted a lackadaisical slap, neither an attempt to clear the field nor an effective shot trying to rotate the strike. Consequently, he was caught at mid-wicket. Gill faced 66 deliveries, scoring 23 runs with the slowest strike rate among all batters who have surpassed the 20-run mark in this Test. 

'What Kind Of A Shot Was He Looking To Play?'

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar criticised young batsman Shubman Gill for his reckless shot selection on Day 2 in Hyderabad and expressed frustration at Gill's unnecessary shot, emphasising that it was not required.

Commentating on Day 2, Gavaskar remarked, "What kind of a shot was he looking to play? One can understand if he was looking to play it in the air but it was just a badly executed on-drive. He did all the hard work and then played a shot like that."

India concluded day two at 421 for 7 in response to England's initial innings total of 246 in the opening Test of the five-match series in Hyderabad on Friday. At Stumps, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel remained unbeaten with scores of 81 and 35, respectively. England's bowlers Tom Hartley and Joe Root each claimed two wickets. Key contributions came from KL Rahul, who scored 86, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who notched up 80 for India.