'Not exceeded expectations': Manjrekar's take on Shubman Gill's big knock in 4th Test

Following his well-constructed century on the 3rd day of the 4th Test between India and Australia, Shubman Gill has been receiving praise from across the country. Opening the innings, Shubman Gill started the day on a positive note and scored freely to register his maiden home Test 100. While many hailed the right-hander's solid innings, Sanjay Manjrekar said it is something that is expected of Gill.

"Not exceeded expectations. This is what was expected of him. But it's very difficult in India to fulfill expectations because they are generally on the higher side," Manjrekar said.

Manjrekar likened KL Rahul's overseas hundreds with Gill's 90-run innings that he played in Brisbane in 2021, and said that in this match, the pressure was on Gill due to a "quiet" 3rd Test. 

"KL Rahul also had a terrific record, especially when it comes to hundreds overseas. Shubman Gill also had a great to his Test career, getting the 90 in Brisbane. Then he had the hundred in Bangladesh. But, in this match, there was some pressure because he had a quiet game. Runs were needed but the way he got those runs, looked commanding, looked comfortable."

"He started off with a strike rate of over 60, then it went down a bit. Once he knew he had the bowlers on the mat, he did not let go. When he got out, he looked really disappointed. All the great signs... we want to see is for him to have a long, long Test career," he added.

Ind vs Aus: Day 4

While Gill could not take his innings past the 128-mark, the Indian innings is still afloat. India finished Day 3 on 289/3 at the stumps. On Day 4, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja continued from where they left off and took India past 300 at a fine pace. Jadeja, however, could not last long and threw away his wicket when India were on 309. At the time of writing, India are 329/4, trailing by 151 runs. Virat Kohli is still at the crease, batting at 70, along with KS Bharat, who has been promoted up the order over Shreyas Iyer.