'Shubman Gill has matured a lot since captaining in IPL' - Nasser Hussain lauds Indian skipper after belligerent Headingley ton

Nasser Hussain praised Shubman Gill after the Punjab batter started his captaincy tenure in Test cricket with a fluent century against England, on Friday, June 20, at Headingley, Leeds. His dazzling knock helped India take the honours on Day 1 of the first Test in the five-match series against England.

Shubman played an attacking brand of cricket, not sparing any loose balls bowled by the fairly inexperienced England bowling lineup. The 25-year-old hit 16 fours and a solitary six during his phenomenal knock, as India finished on 359/3 in 85 overs on Day 1.

Hussain noted that the Indian batters like hitting boundaries, as they are particularly strong in white-ball cricket. He also mentioned that most of the players have come to England after playing in the highly-competitive Indian Premier League (IPL) recently.

"They're brought up on a lot of white-ball cricket, and they're coming out of the IPL, so they know how to hit boundaries. But they got the balance right; they hit the bad balls for boundaries," Hussain said while speaking to Sky Sports.

Hussain said that the Indian team management will want Shubman to go from strength to strength on Day 2. The cricketer-turned-commentator also opined that captaining the Gujarat Titans in the IPL has made Shubman a mature cricketer.

"Brilliant day for India. The message would be to go again tomorrow. Gill has matured a lot since he got the captaincy for the Gujarat Titans," he added.

Shubman registers highest Test score, Pant brings up seventh ton on Day 2

While Shubman played a terrific knock, his deputy, Rishabh Pant, wasn't far behind. The wicketkeeper-batter stayed true to his character and played some audacious strokes to remain unbeaten on 65 off 102 balls on Day 1.

Shubman hit a sublime boundary off Chris Woakes in the second over on Day 2 to move past his previous highest Test score of 128, which he scored against Australia in Ahmedabad in 2023. He eventually departed for 147 while attempting a maximum over the deep mid-wicket region, only to mistime and find the fielder, but not before putting his team in a superlative position over The Three Lions.

Meanwhile, Pant brought up his seventh Test century and third in England, in the 100th over, hitting a trademark one-handed six against Shoaib Bashir, the same bowler who got Gill out a few overs later.