India vs England: Shubman Gill’s defiant ton on Day 3 gives Indians hope of series-leveling win

Shubman Gill responded to growing criticism against him in style with a fluent century on Day 3 that helped India set England an improbable 399-run target in the second Test at Visakhapatnam. Gill, whose form had taken a hit in recent outings, scored 104 off 147 deliveries — his third century in his 22nd Test appearance.

Gill, who had to be shifted to the No 3 spot to accommodate Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top, ended up scoring nearly half of the 255 runs that India posted on the board in their second outing after collecting a sizeable 143-run first innings lead against England.

Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin then struck shortly before close of play, getting a bat-deflection off left-handed opener Ben Duckett to break yet another English opening partnership that went past the fifty mark. At stumps on Day 3, England were 67/1 with Zak Crawley unbeaten on 29 and nightwatchman Rehan Ahmed batting on 9.

The visitors need another 332 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series with nine wickets in hand. Ben Stokes and company had earlier pulled off a stunning 28-run victory in the series opener in Hyderabad despite conceding a 190-run first innings lead, thanks to a magnificent 196 from Ollie Pope and a haul of 7/62 by debutant Tom Hartley.

Brief scores:

India 396 and 255 in 78.3 overs (Shubman Gill 104, Axar Patel 45; Tom Hartley 4/77, Rehan Ahmed 3/88) lead England 253 and 67/1 in 14 overs (Zak Crawley 29*, Ben Duckett 28; Ravichandran Ashwin 1/8) by 331 runs.

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