India captain Gill receives special gift from Gavaskar after record-shattering series in England

LONDON: India captain Shubman Gill received a special gift from ‘Little Master’ Sunil Gavaskar after he came close but stood too far from breaking his record for most runs by an Indian in a Test series.

Shubman agonisingly fell 20 runs short of breaking Gavaskar’s tally of 774 as he concluded the series with 754 runs to his name. With his robust technique, he looked poised for an extended stay on the case but was undone by a sharply nipping delivery from Gus Atkinson, punching his return ticket on 11(9).

At the end of a throbbing contest on Day 3 of the fifth Test, Gavaskar met Gill, gifted a shirt with the SG initials and a special cap that he doesn’t give to too many people. He hopes that after missing out on the elusive milestone by a whisker, he will strive for it in future assignments.

“I have got a gift for you in anticipation of you going past (me). At least you got something to aim for in the next series. It is just a little gift. It is a shirt with SG initials, someone made it for me, I am giving this to you, but I don’t know if it will fit you. This is a cap which I give to very few people with my signature. All the best,” Gavaskar said after meeting Gill in a video posted by Sony Sports on X.

Gill and Mohammed Siraj’s tactical ploy was on display during the final moments before the day’s end. India played a double bluff by setting up the field for a ‘sweet chin music’, but Siraj bowled a searing, angling yorker to rattle Zak Crawley’s timber. Impressed by the brilliant piece of gambit,

Gavaskar promised to wear his lucky jacket, hoping it would turn India’s fortune.

“That last over was fantastic. Sending a fielder over there, but then bowling the yorker. Tomorrow I am going to wear my lucky jacket, which I wore in Australia, the white one during the Gabba Test, on the last day,” he concluded.

In pursuit of a 374-run target, England opener Crawley and Ben Duckett raised a 50-run opening stand before the former departed on 14(36). As things stand, India is eight wickets shy of victory, while England needs 324 runs with two days left for play. (ANI)