India batter Shubman Gill roared back to form on Sunday by scoring a crucial hundred against England on Day 3 of the second Test in Vizag.
Gill's third Test century is also his first against England and second in India. This is also Gill's first ton since March 2023.
This is international hundred number 10 for the 24-year-old, making him the first batter in the last seven years to score in triple digits for India at No.3 in a Test match.
Gill's century breakup:
- 6 hundreds in ODIs.
- 3 hundreds in Tests.
- 1 hundred in T20I.
Indian players with 10 international centuries at the age of 24:
- Sachin Tendulkar.
- Virat Kohli.
- Shubman Gill.
Crucial century in Gill's career
His knock comes at a time when India were in a spot of bother at 2 for 30 after the early loss of openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Gill mixed caution with aggression to stitch two important partnerships with Shreyas Iyer (29) and Axar Patel for 81 and 89 runs, respectively.
The stylish right-hander survived two close DRS calls after his half-century, first fifty plus score in 13 innings, before succumbing to debutant spinner Shoaib Bashir in the post-lunch session.
Gill's 147 ball 104 consisted of 11 fours and a couple of massive sixes. India were 211 for 5 at the time of his dismissal with a lead of 354 runs over England in the third innings of the match.
Answering his critics in style
This knock should silence the critics and trollers who have been calling for his exclusion from the Test squad after a string of low scores in the past few months.
But Gill has shown the world that you cannot keep a talent like him quite for a long time. Gill would have been under immense pressure after Jaiswal, who is two years younger and just 6 Tests old, scored a double hundred in India's first innings while he failed to convert another start in this series.
This century however, is the perfect way to put all the negativity behind him and focus on the future.
