'He Came and Took the Pressure Off': Gill Credits Jurel for Match-winning Stand vs ENG in Ranchi

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Shubman Gill can most definitely take another bow as his gritty and patient innings of 52* was key behind India’s win over England in the fourth Test of the series at Ranchi.

Stuck in a rock and a hard place, chasing a target of seemingly simple 192 runs , India got off to a blistering start with openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal taking on the English bowlers with ease, as the skipper scored a timely fifty himself.

The following period would prove to be one of danger for India, as they stooped from 84/0 to 120/5. This is where Gill and Dhruv Jurel came in to notch what would become the match-winning performance.

“We were put under pressure by them, but we got a good start by our openers, losing couple of wickets put pressure. But Jurel came out and took the pressure off,” said Gill in the post-match interview.

“You have to see the situation and play accordingly – they were bowling well and protecting the boundaries, also not giving maidens and keep picking the singles (was the mindset).”

Gill, in particular, took on the bigger responsibility being the higher order batter, and played with an astute patience that can be expected from a seasoned veteran of the game, as the young batter scored the slowest fifty of his Test career.

And along with wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, who was playing his second Test match, Gill notched up a match-winning 72-run partnership.

“I just told him (Jurel) you batted beautifully in the first innings and to have the same mindset, try to use the feet to negate the off-spinner. The way he came down and played was beautiful,” congratulated Gill.

India’s batting struggles could also be attributed to the number of absentees the team had to deal with as the series unfolded. With talisman batter Virat Kohli opting out of the entire series due to personal reasons, and wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul sidelined after the first Test due to injury., the onus was on all the youngsters and debutants to step up to the plate and grab the opportunity by the neck.

“It means the world to us, coming here and having to play the series with not much batting experience, having lost KL after the first Test.. but Rohit Bhai backed us and gave us the confidence to go out and play with freedom,” stated Gill.

In the end, all the grit and grind from both batters paid off, as India battled it out against England to secure a five-wicket win over the visitors, and also clinched the series 3-1.