Manchester, Jul 22 (PTI) Batting legend Ricky Ponting said India skipper Shubman Gill’s aggressive posturing during the Lord’s Test against England was “a little out of character” but at the same time viewed it as a “captain standing up for his team”.
The closely-fought game saw plenty of drama on the field, including an animated flare-up between Gill and the England openers towards the end of the third day of the Test.
India had managed to equal England’s first innings total of 387, and wanted to squeeze in two overs in the remaining six minutes of play. However, that wasn’t possible as the English openers took their time to get ready, and Gill exchanged words with Zak Crawley and then Ben Duckett.
Former Australia captain Ponting understood why Gill’s aggressive action at Lord’s was met with surprise.
“That was a little out of character from what I’ve known from Shubman in the past. I am sure everyone that was there watching it and I know you would know him quite well, that’s not what he’s generally like,” Ponting told ‘The ICC Review’.
But Ponting also sympathised with Gill, saying it was a case of a young captain taking a stand for his team under the circumstances.
“That’s the captain standing up for his team, that’s a captain really wanting to show that it’s his team now and this is the way that we’re going to play the game, and also, I guess, wanting to give a little bit back.” India lost the Test by 22 runs to trail the series 1-2. The fifth and final Test begins here on Wednesday.
Ponting felt that Gill acted in a manner similar to former captain Virat Kohli.
“I think that’s him starting to put his stamp on his team. And a lot like Virat (Kohli) did, similar ways like that. Rohit (Sharma) probably was never as outwardly aggressive, I guess, especially to opposition players.
“I know he (Rohit) would quite often get aggressive with his teammates and try to bring the best out of them that way. But I love watching Shubman stand up for what he thought was right in the game last week.” Ponting has played Tests in England across four separate tours, and twice as captain (2005 and 2009). He said that the pressures of such a high-profile tour could get to a skipper.
“The UK can be a hard place to play. The crowds, as much as they love their game, can be as hostile a place to play as anywhere in the world.
“The media there, when you’re in a big series, when it’s an Ashes series or when it’s England and India, the media always feel like they’re right on top of your back as well.” PTI PDS PDS AH AH
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