After India’s loss in the third Test, Shubman Gill defended Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, saying Pant’s run-out while trying to help Rahul reach his century before lunch was a mistake but not done for personal glory.
Gill told the media that Pant’s run-out at 74 was the game’s turning point as India was in a position to take a good lead. But India only tied England’s first innings score of 387.
We say team comes first. I think this was a miscalculation not a selfish play for 100 runs. I think Pant wanted Rahul to score 100 runs before lunch as there can be pressure at 99, said Gill. But I don’t think Pant was being selfish when he got run out. It was a mistake. Rishabh made the call and KL was running into danger. It can happen to anyone.
Gill said Rishabh’s run-out was a big moment. We thought we could get a lead of 50 or 100 runs and knew batting on Day 5 would be tough. A bigger first innings lead would put the other team under pressure, he said.
Ravindra Jadeja (61 not out off 181) batted with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for almost three hours. Gill said this showed how important Jadeja is to the team and how the tail-enders tried to stay in the game instead of giving up. India went from 112 for 8, chasing 193 to this point because of them.
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He’s one of India’s most valuable players, Gill said. His experience and skills in bowling, batting and fielding are rare. And his calmness today was great. We have talked about the lower order’s batting in the past two games and they showed courage.
