Ton validates Shubman’s rising stock

HELMET REMOVED and bat raised, a jaded Shubman Gill walked back to the dressing room to a thunderous applause and a standing ovation from his Punjab teammates. It was a pleasant afternoon at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla, but Shubman was drenched in sweat, and his bright blue jersey soiled with mud. The tall and gawky teen was no stranger to such grand and overwhelming receptions. But this was special. This was a moment that would be etched in his memory forever.

The 17-year-old scored his maiden century in only his second List A game that propelled Punjab to a position of respectability against Assam in the second Vijay Hazare Trophy encounter. His stroke-filled 121 were studded with some sumptuous strokes, further validating his potential. Sadly for him, his century proved to be in a valiant cause as Punjab were drubbed by Assam in their second league encounter.

With his fluid stroke-play, Shubman has been making heads turn for some time now. After scoring mountain of runs at junior cricket, the Ferozpur-lad made further strides when he continued his rich vein of form at the Junior Asia Cup last year, and then during the five-match U-19 ODI series against England at Nagpur earlier this month, where he scored back-to-back tons.

Such was his impact in that series, that Rahul Dravid, the hard-nosed and usually fastidious U-19 coach, heaped praise on the youngster. “Shubman is really talented and he has been terrific for us,” he had said.

After his masterful century on Sunday, Harbhajan Singh, Shubman’s Punjab’s captain, termed him a rare find. “Dabang player hain. Bahut positive rehta hain. India khel lega woh,” Harbhajan summed up when asked about the new batting talent in his line-up. The 36-year-old did not stop at that.

He then went on to compare his batting style to that of Australian captain Steven Smith. “There is a bit of Steve Smith about him in the way he bats. He is slightly unorthodox, but packs in quite a punch while playing them. He plays those lovely insideout shots, and orchestrates those cut shots, which go speeding through the covers and not through point as is the case usually,” he added.

On the face of it, Harbhajan’s comparison may sound a tad preposterous, but it further illustrated the teenager’s rising stock.

Shubman had missed out on his List-a debut against Vidarbha — getting dismissed for just 11 runs. “Set hone ke pehle hi run out ho gaya tha bhaiya,” he rued.

Barely 24 hours later, at the same venue, he made amends for that failure. More than the his stroke-play, what stood out today was the maturity he displayed while playing the sheet-anchor’s role, thereby bailing out his side from considerable strife. Harbhajan had won the toss and opted to take first strike on a placid Kotla track. They were, however, pegged back by the early assault by Assam’s swing bowler Arup Das. Shubman, batting at No.3 walked in as early as the second over, after the demise of opener Manan Vohra.

In the next five overs, Mandeep and Yuvraj would also depart leaving Harbhajan’s side reeling at 3/19. He then forged a 141-run stand for the fourth wicket with Gurkeerat, which was the cornerstone of Punjab’s fightback. “We had lost an early wicket when I walked out to bat today. I wanted to make up for my failure against Vidarbha yesterday. So, as wickets fell around, I was intent at staying till the end. Tikke rehna tha. Thankfully, my stand with Gurkeerat helped us rebuild the innings,” he said. Barring Shubman’s century, and Gurkeerat’s fifty, none of the other batsmen offered resistance. Just remove his 121 from Punjab’s tally, and you would know how priceless his knock truly was.

Punjab 243 (Shubman Gill 121, Arup Das 3/27) lost to Assam 247/7 (Amit Verma 65, KB Arun Karthik 63).

BRIEF SCORES:

File Shubman Gill scored 121.