Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar heaped massive praise on Shubman Gill after the latter scored 90 runs in the first innings of the third and final Test. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar thanked Gill for caring about Test cricket. The young India batter managed to counter tough conditions.
Gill faced 146 balls and shared an important partnership with Rishabh Pant. Gill allowed Pant to break free and even batted smartly against the spinners.
Gill has scored 805 runs in 10 Tests in 2024. With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy looming, Gill’s performance will play a key role. Gill likes to fight in red-ball cricket.
“Shubman Gill is a special player in white-ball cricket but he also cares for Test cricket. He wants to succeed in Test format, and played well in the first innings. However, he needs to work on his batting against the left arm spinners. It is nice to see that a big star of today’s generation caring about Test cricket,” Manjrekar said.
Earlier, Manjrekar had slammed the batter for his failure against the spinners in the second Test in Pune. India were bowled out for 245 in the second innings despite being 120/2 at one stage.
“Shubman Gill clearly does not have the feel for the slow bowlers. He doesn’t like to face spinners on turning tracks,” Manjrekar had said.
On Saturday, India put up a total of 263 runs. New Zealand are 143 runs ahead, and still have one wicket left.
