'Gill answered all questions with his bat'

"Four centuries, an average of 75.40, and more than 750 runs -- all scored across different conditions."

Ahead of India's recently concluded five-match series against England, newly appointed skipper Shubman Gill had faced questions over his overseas credentials, but he  responded with a stellar show, amassing 754 runs, the second-most by an Indian batter in a single series.

As Gill emphatically silenced his critics with a rippling batting display, his side matched England blow for blow in the gruelling series despite the absence of stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Gill headed into the series following a string of sub-par numbers outside Asia, having not breached the 40-run mark since his magnificent 91-run knock against Australia at Brisbane in 2021, but emerged as the player of the series. 

Former Team India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel on Friday hailed the 25-year-old stylish right-hander for the determination and strength of character he showcased during the drawn series. 

Speaking on 'Follow The Blues', Parthiv said, "Four centuries, an average of 75.40, and more than 750 runs -- all scored across different conditions. Earlier, when he walked out to bat, there were questions: Will he be able to perform in the SENA countries? Can he deliver consistently? But look at the answers he has given. 147 runs in the first innings at Headingley. In the second innings, people said he threw his wicket away after that big score."

"Then came 269 runs in the first innings at Edgbaston. Again, the talk was that it might prove to be less, but he followed it up with 161 in the second innings. In the third Test, he got out early in both innings, and questions about his form began to surface again, even though he had already scored 430 runs in the previous match. And then came that hundred in Manchester, in a match India needed to draw. Whenever there was been a challenge, whenever questions were asked, Gill answered them perfectly with his bat," he added.

Gill's tally of 754 was the second-best by an Indian in a Test series after Sunil Gavaskar's 774 runs against West Indies in 1971. It was also the second-highest runs by a captain in a Test series only below Don Bradman's 810 runs against England in 1936/37.

He also surpassed teammate Yashasvi Jaiswal's tally of 712 from last year to have the most runs by an Indian against England in a series.

The skipper also crossed the 6,000-run mark in international cricket during the series.