Zoom News : Jan 24, 2021, 12:46 PM
Cricket Desk: Shubman Gill had a memorable debut Test series for Team India against Australia Down Under. Gill made his debut in the second Test against the hosts in Melbourne after replacing struggling Prithvi Shaw as an opener. He went on to notch up 259 runs in three games for the visitors and played a key role in India's historic 2-1 triumph in the Test series.Gill scored a magnificent 91-run-knock in the series-deciding final 4th Test in Brisbane to help India chase down a record target of 328 runs on Day 5. After losing his opening partner Rohit Sharma early, Gill added 114 runs for the second wicket with Cheteshwar Pujara (56) to keep India in the hunt.Rishabh Pant then took India over the line with a stunning unbeaten 89 off 138 balls laced with 9 fours and a six. Impressed with Pant's attacking style of batting, Gill lavished praise on the wicket-keeper batsman for winning India the game and said the left-hander is his hero and the go-to-person in the Indian team."The team was aiming for a win. The way Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur played in the first innings was outstanding. We got a good start in the second innings. The way Cheteshwar Pujara paaji took the blows was so inspiring. Thereafter, Rishabh Pant played an amazing brand of cricket," Gill was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times as he described India's stunning win in the Brisbane Test."We all were egging him on from the dressing room. He is my hero and also my go-to person in the team. Hats off to him for his stunning 89—despite an injury (97 at the SCG braving a painful elbow), he made batting look easy," he added. Pant finished the series as India's highest run-getter with 274 runs from 3 matches.India's back was against the wall ahead of the start of the all-important fourth Test at Australia's fortress - The Gabba where they had last lost a Test match in 1988. However, in the absence of the likes of R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja, youngsters like Gill, Pant, Shardul Thakur, and Washington Sundar impressed to take India home.India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the second straight time in Australia's backyard as Ajinkya Rahane & Co. scripted history Down Under.