In Shubman Gill’s second innings of the Brisbane Test , of the 10 boundaries he hit – eight fours and two sixes – not one came off the edge...
In Shubman Gill’s second innings of the Brisbane Test, of the 10 boundaries he hit – eight fours and two sixes – not one came off the edge of the bat. The third one was a flick to fine-leg while the rest were accompanied by that sweet, cracking sound of the ball meeting the meat of the bat. They were 44 of the most satisfying runs scored that day.
The Covid-19 protocols added a number of challenges for the players but one can’t help but be thankful for one of the changes brought along: a limited crowd at the stadiums, for that allowed us to fully relish the sound, the echoes of Gill’s batting.
The victory wasn’t exactly on India’s mind going into the fifth day at the Gabba. They were 4/0 at stumps on day four and needed 324 runs from 98 overs to win the Test. That was 3.306 runs required each over through the entire fifth day on a pitch that had plenty of cracks in it and had ‘started to play a few tricks’.
To make matters worse, senior batsman Rohit Sharma was sent back just 39 balls into day five. Again, at that stage, a draw would have been a perfectly reasonable target for...
