India batter Shubman Gill opined on the leadership of Ben Stokes in the ongoing Test series against India. He said that the England skipper is different from the other touring captains as the all-rounder attempts to create pressure on the opposition.
England skipper Ben Stokes has been brilliant with his leadership in the ongoing Test series against India. There haven’t been too many captains who have come to India and put the home team under pressure. However, the English captain has done exactly that.
Ben Stokes so far in all the games has made run-scoring hard for the Indian batters. With his unorthodox field placements, the all-rounder has frustrated Indian batters. This also has resulted in timely wickets for his team at crucial junctures of the game.
During Day 4 of the Ranchi Test, when was slipping away from England’s reach with after an opening partnership by Rohit Sharma (55) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37). Ben Stokes with his field placements put tremendous pressure on India and reduced them from 84/0 to 120/5.
But Shubman Gill (52*) and Dhruv Jurel (39*) held the fort for the team. They batted quite maturely and made sure that India went past the finishing line and won the game by 5 wickets to go 3-1 in the series.
Shubman Gill while talking about Ben Stokes’ tactics said that he goes against the normal pattern and pointed out how the England skipper made batters hit false shots. Speaking to Jio Cinema, he explained:
“I think it is a bit different especially when teams come to India, there is a set pattern that all the teams play with. And I think what they have done is not play with that pattern. Generally, when you see, when a batsman is set playing on 50-60, you would get a field – long on back, long off back – like normally how you play in India.
“But I think what he has done is that they don’t want to play with that pattern and that’s why you would see just before tea, he brings up everyone in or maybe if they desperately need a wicket they bring everyone in and makes a false shot out of the batsman.”
If you are not always on top of the ball or on top of the game, the game slips – Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill further highlighted how in India game can slip away if two or three wickets fall quickly while pointing out why England failed to win games. Elaborating on the game, he explained:
“I feel in these conditions it’s very important like… they had the momentum or going to the third Test match Day 2, when Ben Duckett was batting and hit a hundred, they had that momentum suddenly.
“In India, you would see if you get good two-three wickets, then the batsman coming in is always under pressure, because there is something always happening from the wicket and if you are not always on top of the ball or on top of the game – the game slips from your hands very quickly.”
Shubman Gill has been in the decent touch in the ongoing series. He has slammed one century and two half-centuries so far. The batter would be hoping to end the series on high. The last match will be played from 7th March in Dharamsala.
