Former England captain Kevin Pietersen gave a unique reaction to Indian batter Shubman Gill's century during Day 3 of the ongoing second Test between Team India and England at DR Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium in Vishakhapatnam on Sunday, January 4.
Gill faced sharp criticism for failing to deliver his best by batting No.3 in the last three innings of two Tests against Ben Stokes-led side. However, the 24-year-old managed to silence his critics by stepping up in pressure situation and playing an impressive knock of 104 off 147 balls when the team needed him the most.
Kevin Pietersen took to his X handle (formerly Twitter) and thanked Shubman Gill for answering his critics who questioned his place in the team due to poor performances. Earlier, former England captain implored the critics to be patient with Gill and give him time to get back to his form.
Shubman Gill lead India's batting and formed a crucial 81-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer (29) for the third wicket after hosts lost openers in skipper Rohit Sharma (13) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (15) early in the first session on Day 3.
Gill walked out to bat with immense pressure but managed to deliver his best when remaining top-order batters failed to big in India's second innings batting. Shubman Gill recorded his first century since March 2023. Also, the youngster became the third Indian batter to score 10 centuries after Sachin Tendulkar (30) and Virat Kohli (21) at the age of 24 in international cricket.
India's wickets tumble after Shubman Gill's century
Shubman Gill's incredible innings came to an end after he was dismissed by young debutant Shoaib Bashir at 211/5. Gill's wicket for crucial wicket for England as he was kept India's batting sailing and helped the hosts 300-run in the second innings on Day 3.
After Gill's dismissal, India's batting began to collapse from 211/5 to 255 all-out, losing remaining five wickets in just 44 runs. Axar Patel contributed to India's second innings batting and scored 45 off 84 balls, while Ravichandran Ashwin scored 29 off 61 balls. However, KS Bharat (6), Kuldeep Yadav (0) and Jasprit Bumrah (0) were dismissed cheaply.
For England, Tom Hartley led the bowling attack with four-wicket haul, while Rehan Ahmed picked three wickets. Veteran England pacer James Anderson contributed to visitors' bowling with two wickets.
After being bundled out for 255, India set a 399-run target for England to chase.
