 "Sunil Gavaskar gifted a cap and a shirt to Shubman Gill for going past his record. Sony Sports")
India had a great Day 3 of the ongoing fifth and final Test match against England at The Oval. They set a massive target of 374 runs for England to win the Test. It was a team effort with big contributions from several players, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Akash Deep, Ravindra Jadeja , and Washington Sundar.
India finished their second innings at 396, giving them a strong position in the match. With England needing a record chase, Mohammed Siraj gave India an early breakthrough, bowling out Zak Crawley with a superb yorker just before stumps. England ended Day 3 at 50/1, with Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope at the crease.
This is Shubman Gill’s first full tour as Test captain, and India now have a real chance to level the contest 2-2 and avoid a series defeat. Meanwhile, Gill received a heartfelt gift from former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who revealed he had picked it out in advance, thinking Gill might break his record for the most runs by an Indian in a Test series.
Gavaskar’s touching gesture to Gill
After a strong day for India on the pitch, former cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar surprised current skipper Shubman Gill with a personally signed cap and a custom SG-branded shirt. Gavaskar wished Gill and the team good luck for the remainder of the match, calling the gift a small token of support and belief.
He also promised to cheer for the team from the commentary box while wearing his “lucky jacket,” the same one he wore when India beat Australia at the Gabba in 2021. Gill and Gavaskar both share the same initials - SG.
Gill is India’s top run-scorer in the series, finishing with 754 runs in 10 innings, just 20 runs short of breaking Gavaskar’s record of 774 runs in a single Test series. Gavaskar told Gill that while he couldn’t break the record this time, it’s something to aim for in the next series.