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Team India captain Shubman Gill appeared in a press conference a day ahead of the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 to be played at The Oval. Before the start of the competition, there were questions how Team India will perform in England after the retirement of their legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Following the appointment of Shubman Gill, the 25-year-old’s critics predicted India’s humiliating loss in the series. Gill’s critics also highlighted his then red-ball batting numbers in England. However, after the four matches of the series, India are still alive and Gill’s men have given stiff competition to the home side.
In the pre-match press conference, Gill said he and his side worked diligently to keep the series alive and it will be a massive achievement for his team if they pull off the victory at The Oval and conclude the series in a stalemate. "If you look at the kind of cricket we have played, sometimes the scorecard of the series, as in where we are in the series, doesn't determine that. Every match that we have played, it was very difficult to decide which team is going to win after four days of cricket. If we are able to do that for every match for four matches coming outside of India with a relatively young team, it is going to be a big achievement for us if we are able to level the series," said Gill.
Shubman Gill is the highest run-getter in the series
Shubman Gill has been the most successful batter in the series, so far. He has answered his critics superbly with his bat. Appearing in four games, he has smashed 722 runs with four hundreds in eight innings. Gill requires 53 more runs to break Steven Smith's record of 774 runs in The Ashes 2019 to become the batter with the most runs in a Test competition held in the 21st century.
In the final game, he will be expected to take England’s bowling attack to the cleaners again to help India dominate the hosts. As captain, Gill will also strive to become the third captain to win a red-ball game for India at The Oval. Before him, only Ajit Wadekar and Virat Kohli won Test matches for Team India as skippers.
