Birmingham, July 6 (IANS) Former England batter Jonathan Trott was left awestruck with India captain Shubman Gill’s glittering knock of 161 in the second innings of the second Test against England at Edgbaston.

Lauding Gill’s marathon knock, which guided India to a mammoth 427/6d and set a target 608 for England, Trott said it was pure dominance from the 25-year-old to show his batting maturity. Gill also played a career-best knock of 269 along with Ravindra Jadeja’s 89 in the first essay to take the side to 587.

“I honestly feel privileged to be here and witness that innings. I can’t recall him giving the English bowlers even a single chance. The way he shifted gears – hitting sixes at will – without slogging, just pure cricket shots, was something special. Today, he showed how complete a batter he is. It reminded me of the previous Indian number four – almost a carbon copy of that genius. I don’t think he could’ve dreamed of a better start to his first two Tests on this tour. Sure, he’d have liked to win at Headingley, but now he’s hopefully set up a fantastic victory here tomorrow,” Trott said on JioHotstar.

Former India pacer Varun Aaron also talked highly of the visiting captain and said Gill has done a lot of hard work for the England tour.

“Shubman just can’t seem to put a foot wrong, and I hope this form continues for as long as possible. But it hasn’t happened by chance. He’s put in a lot of hard work — even during the IPL — to improve as a red-ball player. He’s tweaked his tactics, changed his technique a bit, and you can see the results. When someone as talented as Shubman Gill puts in the hard yards, he steps into that ‘legend’ territory,” he said.

Heading into Day 5, India are in a commanding position, with England still requiring 536 runs to chase down a mammoth target of 608 in Birmingham amid rain threat.

In the final session of Day 4, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep made early inroads into England’s lineup, dismissing openers Zak Crawley (0) and Ben Duckett (25), before removing the world’s top-ranked Test batter, Joe Root, within the first 11 overs of the innings. The fiery spell firmly placed India in control as they aim to square the series.

On Akash Deep’s spirited performance and celebration, Aaron added, “Akash Deep hasn’t had an easy journey. He’s from Bihar and had to try for different states because the Bihar Cricket Association has had its struggles. He eventually moved to Bengal – as an outsider – and had to earn his place among locals. He made a name for himself there. Coming from a small town in Bihar and performing like this for India in England, it obviously means the world to him. His celebration said it all – it was his way of saying, ‘I’m here to stay’.”

–IANS

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