London [UK], August 1 : India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate feels that the management will let captain Shubman Gill get off the hook for his reckless dismissal on the opening day of the fifth Test at The Oval against England.
On the second delivery of the 28th over, Gill, who appeared resplendent with his impeccable technique, in a moment of madness, pushed the ball and bustled for a single. The moment of realisation struck him halfway through the crease, that churning out a single was never possible.
Gus Atkinson took a few steps and sent the ball crashing into the stump, forcing Gill to return on 21(35). The Indian captain received no clemency from fans and former cricketers for his careless act. However, Doeschate weighed in on Gill's dreadful moment and put his weight behind the 25-year-old skipper, while highlighting his deft touch with the bat throughout the series.
"I'm assuming not as frustrating as it is for him. He's in the touch of his life. Again, today he made batting look really easy for the 40 minutes or whatever he was out there. But you know, these mistakes do happen. England actually bowled nicely in that little spell. And one of the things we did speak about in the breaks is how well we were accumulating because it didn't look easy to hit boundaries there," Doeschate told reporters at the end of the day's play.
"And I thought all the batters today accumulated really well around the stumps. I guess it's getting that balance right of trying to keep the pressure on the bowlers and the fielders, and taking the runs where you can. But that's a misjudgment of a run. And I think given what he's done in the first four tests, we'll let him get away with that one," he added.
In the fifth and final Test at The Oval in London, Gill shattered legendary Sunil Gavaskar's record for the most runs by an Indian captain in a Test series. In 1978-79, the "Little Master" had garnered 732 runs during a home series against the West Indies, during six Tests and nine innings at an average of 91.50, with four centuries and a fifty. His best score was 205.
Gill breezed past Gavaskar by piling up 737 runs in nine innings at an average of 92.12, with four centuries in nine innings and his best score of 269. Notably, Gill is also the highest run-getter in the five-match contest. The 25-year-old stands 38 runs shy of becoming the Indian with the most runs in a bilateral Test series, a record which Gavaskar holds.
He could have achieved the feat during the first innings after flaunting his robust technique under London's gloomy sky. However, in a lapse of concentration, Atkinson picked the ball and sent the timber rattling to have Gill run out on 21(35). After Gill's return, Karun Nair steadied the sinking ship with his unbeaten 52(98) to steer India to 204/6 at the end of the day's play.