Parthiv Patel has come to the defense of Shubman Gill after the young Indian batter’s disappointing performance in the first Test against Bangladesh. Gill was dismissed for a duck on day one, but Patel believes he was simply unlucky ¹. The former Indian wicketkeeper-batter attributed Gill’s dismissal to an instinctive shot, pointing out that when a ball is headed down the leg side, a batter’s bat tends to follow instinctively ¹.
Gill had looked settled in the No. 3 role after a successful home series against England, but failed to replicate that success in the series opener against Bangladesh. His dismissal was a testing delivery from Hasan Mahmud, which Gill attempted to flick but edged to the wicketkeeper ¹. Patel sympathized with Gill, noting that getting out down the leg side is considered one of the unluckiest ways to be dismissed in cricket ¹.
Patel’s comments were made during the lunch break on day one of the Test, where he observed that Gill’s game plan is to stay ahead of the popping crease, allowing him to negotiate swing and seam ¹. Unfortunately, this approach didn’t pay off for Gill on this occasion. Despite the setback, India’s innings was steadied by Yashasvi Jaiswal’s fifty, with the hosts placed at 136-4 after 38 overs ¹.
It’s worth noting that this was Gill’s fifth duck in Test cricket, with his first also occurring at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai against England in 2021 ¹.
