It is not at all easy to perform consistently well in Test cricket. This is the reason why not every player is able to reach the magical figure of 50 Tests or 100 Tests. For this, one has to perform his work consistently well. Especially such expectations are high from the player whose talent is constantly praised everywhere. This is the situation of Shubman Gill in Team India, who has been considered the future of Team India for the last 4-5 years. He has proved this in ODIs but he has had to face difficulties in Test cricket. Despite this, Gill is gradually establishing himself and in this, that aspect of his batting has contributed a lot, in which even big batsmen have had to struggle. This is - batting in the second innings.

Gill's bat works in the second innings

Gill's batting in the second innings is being discussed because he scored a brilliant century on the third day of the Chennai Test against Bangladesh. On Saturday, September 21, Gill played a brilliant innings of 119 runs (not out). His century came in Team India's second and third innings of the match. In any Test match, batting in the second innings of the team, which is the third and fourth innings of that match, is not considered easy. Especially in the Indian subcontinent, because the pitch of the grounds here starts breaking by the third or fourth innings and the work of spinners becomes easy.

This difficulty of batting in the team's second innings (third or fourth innings of the match) is the reason why big scores are not usually seen in these innings. Not every batsman is able to face the challenges of these innings but Shubman Gill is different. In his 26 Test match career, Gill has been seen struggling in the team's first innings on most occasions. The same happened in Chennai, where he got out without opening his account after playing 8 balls. Gill was trolled heavily after this failure but the critics forgot that the second innings was still left, in which Gill is no less than a king.

just chill Just Gill

Pure elegance from Shubman Gill as he smashes a brilliant 5⃣0⃣! #INDvBAN #IDFCFirstBankTestSeries #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/LOhq1duoG7

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) September 21, 2024

Be it the first century or the fifth, Gill dominated in the second innings

The numbers prove it. Gill made his Test debut on the Australia tour in 2020-21 and his first half-century came in the Brisbane Test, when he scored 91 runs. Not surprisingly, he scored these runs in India's second innings, the fourth innings of the match, while chasing the historic runs. Gill had to wait a long time for his first century and when it came in December 2022, it was also in the team's second innings. Then Gill scored 110 runs in the third innings of the match against Bangladesh. Even after this, he did not get much success and after the first Test against England this year, questions were raised about his place, but in the Visakhapatnam Test, he scored 104 runs in India's second innings.

Today is the best day ever!

Shubman Gill joins the centurion party with a stylish #INDvBAN #IDFCFirstBankTestSeries #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/ZpcuwZyjxQ

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) September 21, 2024

Better average than Kohli-Smith

In the very next test in Rajkot, he again scored 91 runs and missed the century. Then in the Ranchi test also he scored 50 runs (not out) in the same way. Overall, Gill has batted in the first innings 26 times in 26 tests in his career so far and has scored 744 runs at an average of just 28.61, which includes 2 centuries and only 2 half-centuries. While batting in the second innings 22 times, he has scored 867 runs at an excellent average of 51, which includes 3 centuries and 4 half-centuries. Now if we compare it with batsmen like Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, then Gill is far ahead. Kohli has scored 2734 runs in the second innings at an average of 37.97, which includes 5 centuries and 16 half-centuries. On the other hand, Smith has scored 2785 runs in innings at an average of 39.22, which includes 4 centuries and 19 half-centuries.