SUN SHINES ON SHUBMAN

India’s No. 3 scores a splendid 104 to put the hosts in command on day three of the second Test against England

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

THE clock on the electronic scoreboard was ticking down. 8...7...6...5... you could have even argued that Shubman Gill had five seconds to save his Test career, at least in the short-term. He was in the middle of a consultation with Shreyas Iyer. England and Tom Hartley were celebrating after what looked like a simple leg-before decision for the umpire.

Gill didn’t want to send it upstairs but after some cajoling from Sheyas’ end (it perhaps took one struggling batter to identify another struggling batter), India’s No. 3 put his shortterm future in the hands of DRS. The technology showed a minor spike as the ball passed the outside edge; England weren’t too convinced but the crowd roared in delight. Gill couldn’t believe what he had just seen but managed a feeble smile of relief.