Shubman Gill's Dismissal Sparks Debate as India Faces England at The Oval

Gill's Controversial Run Out Overshadows Performance

London [UK], August 1: Ryan ten Doeschate, the assistant coach for India, believes that the management will likely overlook captain Shubman Gill's reckless dismissal during the opening day of the fifth Test against England at The Oval.

On the second ball of the 28th over, Gill, who had been showcasing his exceptional technique, made a hasty decision to push the ball and attempt a single. It was only halfway down the pitch that he realized that a run was unattainable.

Gus Atkinson swiftly collected the ball and hit the stumps, leaving Gill to walk back after scoring 21 runs off 35 balls. The Indian captain faced criticism from fans and former players alike for his careless mistake. Nevertheless, Doeschate defended the 25-year-old skipper, emphasizing his impressive batting throughout the series.

“I can only imagine how frustrating it is for him. He’s in fantastic form. For the brief time he was out there, he made batting seem effortless. Mistakes do happen, though. England bowled well during that spell. We discussed how effectively we were accumulating runs, especially since hitting boundaries was challenging,” Doeschate remarked to reporters after the day's play.

“All the batters did a commendable job of accumulating runs around the stumps. It’s about finding the right balance between applying pressure on the bowlers and taking runs when available. Unfortunately, that was a misjudgment on a run. Given his performance in the first four Tests, I think we can let him off the hook for this one,” he added.

In this fifth and final Test at The Oval, Gill surpassed the legendary Sunil Gavaskar's record for the most runs scored by an Indian captain in a Test series. Gavaskar had set the record in the 1978-79 series against the West Indies, amassing 732 runs over six Tests and nine innings, averaging 91.50 with four centuries and a fifty, his highest score being 205.

Gill has now accumulated 737 runs in nine innings at an impressive average of 92.12, including four centuries and a top score of 269. He is currently the leading run-scorer in this five-match series and is just 38 runs away from breaking Gavaskar's record for the most runs in a bilateral Test series.

He had the opportunity to achieve this milestone during the first innings, demonstrating his solid technique under the overcast London skies. However, a moment of distraction led to Atkinson running him out at 21 runs off 35 balls. Following Gill's dismissal, Karun Nair provided stability with an unbeaten 52 runs off 98 balls, helping India reach 204/6 by the end of the day's play.