Ben Stokes’ decision to bowl first in both games has probably helped Shubman Gill: Nasser Hussain

Former England cricketer and commentator Nasser Hussain feels the England captain Ben Stokes’ decision to bowl first in both games of the Test series has helped the Indian captain Shubman Gill concentrate more on his batting.

Interestingly, Gill went on to score three centuries in four innings of the Test series so far as he is leading the run-scoring charts with 585 runs from four innings with three beautiful tons. He also achieved his career-best knock of 269 in the first innings of the Birmingham Test.

"It's probably helped Gill that Ben Stokes has chosen to bowl first in both games so far. It means Gill has been able to focus on his batting before he's had to think about the captaincy. And in both games he has walked off at stumps on the first evening with a century to his name. How England responds to him over the next three Tests could decide the fate of the series,” Nasser Hussain wrote in his column to Daily Mail.

"The move to that position has been good for him, as it gives him a bit more time to get into the game. But because of the identity of the guys who have batted there before, it also comes with extra pressure. Score runs, and your authority in the dressing room grows. Do it at the start of your reign, as Gill has done, and you've ticked an important box straightaway,” he went on to write in his column.

Though there were a lot of questions on his captaincy with the exclusion of Jasprit Bumrah from the ongoing second Test, Gill answered his critics with his willow, with twin centuries and helped India in setting a daunting target in front of England.

"Don't forget, either, that Gill has had to fill the No 4 boots of Kohli and Tendulkar, and he's had to do it in his first series as captain, with questions swirling about how India lost the first Test, and what he's going to do with Jasprit Bumrah," he concluded.

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