'This young boy from Punjab, setting it alight in England. He's taken to leadership like a duck to water.'
Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik praised India's Test captain Shubman Gill after he scored a record-equalling fourth hundred in the fourth Test against England, in Manchester on Sunday.
Gill carved his name alongside legends as he smashed his fourth century of the series -- a superb knock of 103 on the final day of the fourth Test to boost India's hopes of drawing the match.
While India still trailed by 88 runs at the time of his dismissal, Gill had already created history.
In terms of overall World Test Championship (WTC) numbers, Gill's record continues to grow stronger.
Overall, he has now scored nine centuries in the World Test Championship, equalling former Indian skipper Rohit Sharma's tally -- although Gill has done it in just 67 innings compared to Rohit's 69.
"This young boy from Punjab, setting it alight in England. There were questions about him as a batter, and he's put that to bed. He's been outstanding. He's taken to leadership like a duck to water. Indian cricket is in safe hands," Karthik told Sky Sports Cricket.
As the series stands, Gill has already amassed an unbeaten 722 runs, surpassing Yashasvi Jaiswal's 712 against England at home just last year. Among the Indian batters for most runs in a Test series, only Sunil Gavaskar stands ahead of him with 774 runs against the West Indies in 1971.
Gill's fourth hundred of the series, equalled the records set by batting greats Sir Donald Bradman, who as Australia captain scored four centuries against India in a home series 1947-48 and Sunil Gavaskar, who as India skipper hit centuries at home against West Indies in 1978-79.
He also becomes the third Indian to score four centuries in a series after Gavaskar, who achieved the feat twice -- both times against West Indies in 1971 and 1978-79, while Virat Kohli hit four hundreds in Australia in 2014-15.
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