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After Destroying England With Bat, Shubman Gill Leads by Example in Sledging; Others Follow

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11th July, 2025 14:50 IST

India’s young captain Shubman Gill has led by example in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, amassing 585 runs in just four innings. His historic knocks at Edgbaston, which saw him pile up 430 runs (269 and 161) in the match, helped India register their maiden Test win in Birmingham.

After destroying England with the bat in the second Test, the 25-year-old led by example, sledging the English batters on Day 1 of the third Test at Lord’s.

image © X/BCCI

English skipper Ben Stokes won the third consecutive toss of the series but decided to bat, for a change. After their ‘Bazball’ was punctured at Edgbaston as India won by 336 runs – the biggest victory (by runs) away from home – the hosts returned to traditional Test cricket batting.

The Indian bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah, bowled tight lines and lengths on a slow Lord’s surface, not allowing the English batters to free their arms.

England players have always been highly vocal about playing a brand of cricket that’s entertaining and brings more people to the stadium.

image © X/BCCI

However, for the first time in this series, their batters left their egos in the dressing room and batted what the situation demanded. It was a sensible approach, earning plaudits from the fans and experts alike.

England’s new batting approach, however, gave Indian players a reason to take a dig at them as they drifted from their ‘Bazball’, which was nowhere to be seen on the first day of the third Test.

Like his batting, Gill was equally potent with his mouth as he made fun of England’s cautious batting approach.

“No more entertaining cricket. Welcome to boring Test cricket, boys,” Gill said, when Joe Root and Ollie Pope were at the crease.

Gill’s remarks didn’t come out of the blue. It was a strategic move to build pressure on the opposition batters, who had gone 28 consecutive balls without adding anything to their scoreboard.

One of the commentators said, “Shubman is saying this because if you look at the run rate, it's 2.95, which means Bazball went out of the window.”

Watching their skipper leading the way, other players also followed suit and started sledging the English batters. After cramping Root with a short-pitch ball, Mohammed Siraj quipped, “Root, where’s the Bazball?” before indicating the England great towards his pocket.

“Baz, Baz, Bazball. Come on. I want to see,” Siraj said in the same over.

Both teams would be happy with their efforts. India, because they didn’t allow the English batters to score freely, and England, because they swallowed their egos and batted as per the situation. All in all, we all should expect an exciting contest ahead.

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