Gill-bill: Ton of reward

On Friday evening, when Shubman Gill took guard in the second innings against Bangladesh, something seemed different.

- GOMESH S

He had had a poor outing on Thursday — an eightball duck where he nicked a nothing delivery down the line — but this time he did not want to waste another opportunity.

To ensure that, the first thing he did was not to commit to his forward press. In the first innings, Gill, taking a leg-stump guard while standing way outside the crease, would shuffle across to the middle-stump with his regular forward press before deciding how to play a particular delivery. He continued that through the eight balls he faced. Sometimes moving too much towards off-stump.

In the second innings, however, he stood outside the crease but moved a little back while shuffling and waited till the ball came out of Taskin Ahmed’s hand before deciding on the shot. It might seem as a minor adjustment but it worked. Gill had ensured that he was not committing to a particular shot and waited a trifle more. Whether it was Taskin or Hasan Mahmud or nahid Rana, Gill continued the same approach throughout.