India is currently playing five-match Test series against England with two Tests already concluded and the series leveled at 1-1. In the first Test England won by 5 wickets, despite India’s top batting efforts the team lost. But in the second Test India made a strong comeback with all-round effort. Shubman Gill impressed with his batting while Akashdeep and Mohammed Siraj led India’s pace attack.
Akashdeep who came in as replacement of Jasprit Bumrah took his first 10-wicket haul in England and made sure England’s batting lineup crumbled following which Team India won by 336 runs. Before the match started there were several questions raised over India’s squad selection and many asked about Kuldeep Yadav not getting a chance in playing XI. In the post match press conference, India’s newly appointed Test captain Shubman Gill opened up about Kuldeep Yadav not getting a chance and Washington Sundar getting picked in his place.
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Shubman Gill On Akashdeep’s Incredible Bowling
“The spell of Akash Deep, how he got those two wickets, kind of gave the confidence to everyone that we can win this Test match and when he came in this morning with the ball hitting the cracks, yes, the ball was seaming, the odd ball seaming, that’s what really instilled the confidence in all of the players that, yes, we can do it,” he added.
Shubman Gill Explains Why Kuldeep Yadav Didn’t Get A Chance
“It is very tempting when you have a bowler like Kuldeep. One of the reasons why I wanted to play Washington was because he gives us batting depth,” said Gill.
“In the first innings, I think the partnership between me and Washington, if it wasn’t for that partnership, then our lead would have been 70-80-90 runs, which is psychologically very different from 180,” he noted.
Gill On India’s Upcoming Test At Iconic Lords
“Even on the 5th day, the ball was not moving that much from the middle, it was just moving through the roughness. We thought that maybe if our first batting comes, then maybe on a 5th day wicket, the finger spinner will give us more control if the ball is moving from the wicket and especially on such wickets, sometimes more than fast bowling, the spin gives you more control,” Gill explained.
“So that was our mindset, but now we will see what kind of wicket they are giving at Lord’s,” he added.
India will be playing 3rd Test against England at Lords and it will be starting from July 10. The stakes are even higher as India will be eyeing to continue their dominant momentum while England will aim to make a strong comeback.
