A flawless double century of the highest class

When a batsman plays a long innings there are moments where he has been a bit uncertain and gets lucky, but there were no such moments for Indian captain Shubman Gill, nor did he need any luck

One of the privileges of being a TV commentator is the opportunity to witness some iconic moments in the game. Since I prefer being involved with broadcasts of events where the Indian team is participating there have been some truly memorable moments I have had the good fortune to see from the venue itself. One such was added to the list when the young Indian captain, Shubman Gill scored a double century of the highest class. When a batsman plays a long innings like that then more often than not, there are moments where he has been a bit uncertain and a bit lucky.

Purity of technique

There were no such moments in Gill’s innings nor did he need any luck. It was a flawless innings and dare I say even better looking than the handsome Indian skipper. There was purity of technique and a range of strokes that was more varied than any of the spread at an Indian wedding. The England bowlers had no answer to his batsmanship and it was only a tired shot that got him out 31 short of what would have been a truly fabulous triple century. That tiredness may well have been due to the hard running he was doing for his partner’s runs too.

At the time of writing,  India had taken a substantial lead over the hosts England and added to it and look in a good position to try and force a win and level the series. Mohd Siraj and Akash Deep bowled with great heart to take all 10 wickets between them and this must be a rarity in Indian cricket that two quick bowlers have shared all 10 wickets between them. It must also be quite rare in recent times to have the game go all the five days for the second successive Test match.  The credit for that has to go to the curators at both Headingley Leeds as well as Edgbaston, Birmingham for preparing pitches which have been good Test pitches.  Normally when India plays in England, there’s a fair bit of grass left on the pitch but ever since India have developed a lethal new ball combination the pitches are shorn of grass. The only grass you get to see nowadays is on the outfield and on the tennis courts of Wimbledon.

Seeds tumble at SW19 

Speaking of Wimbledon, this year it was a bad first week for lots of the top 10 players in both the men’s and women’s singles competition. The biggest shock was the women’s singles winner of the French Open last month, Coco Gauff being knocked out in the first round itself.  It was strange to see Gauff serving so many double faults. She also looked a bit listless. That could well be because England and London in particular, is going through a heat wave which makes it harder for the players especially at the start of the tournament. That’s also the time when a lot of players used to playing on the hard courts find the lush grass slippery and so are often tentative while running for the ball which suits the lower ranked opponent to go for their shots and if they come off, then the tournament sees an upset early on. All indications are that it could well be another Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner final. There’s also a 37 year old player called Novak Djokovic who is looking for his 25th major win and he can never be ruled out on a surface where he himself feels is his best chance to win another major. The 25th title is something of a jinx as the great Serena Williams also found out.

Will Djokovic also face the same or will he find his mojo is what the coming days will tell us.

Professional Management Group

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