London [UK], July 14 (ANI): Test captain Shubman Gill shattered former batting maestro Rahul Dravid’s 23-year-old record of most runs for India in a Test series in England, despite his catastrophic show in the final session of the fourth day of the third Test at Lord’s.
Unlike his historic exploits in Leeds and Birmingham, Gill faltered and surrendered his wicket to Brydon Carse’s scorching delivery. Despite his mediocre endeavours, which ended on a score of six, Gill added another feather to his cap. He transcended Dravid’s tally of 602, which he set during India’s tour of England in 2002. Former captain Virat Kohli slipped to the third spot after his 593-run exploits in the 2016 tour.
Gill, India’s new number four batter, has garnered 607 runs in three Tests at a colossal average of 101.17, laced with three swashbuckling centuries. With two Tests yet to unfold, Gill remains in contention of bringing the curtain down on the series with 1,000 runs to his name.
During India’s pursuit of a 193-run target, the tourists were threadbare at 41/2. Gill had the burden to conjure a partnership with KL Rahul to navigate India out of the turmoil. Carse rubbed salt on India’s wounds by outfoxing Gill, reducing the beleaguered India to 53/3.
The delivery nipped sharply into Gill, whose feet didn’t budge an inch and got pinned in front of the middle stump. After a conversation with KL Rahul, Gill challenged the decision. The replay showed that the ball beat his inside edge and struck his knee roll, forcing the Indian skipper to return cheaply on 6(9).
Gill’s dismissal forced India to send out Akash Deep as nightwatchman to see off the last minutes of the day. He managed well to fend off his 10 deliveries as tempers frayed and emotions boiled over. England Test captain Ben Stokes capitalised on the opportunity and flattened the off-stump, leaving India reeling at 58/4, 135 runs away from victory. (ANI)