Shubman Gill is a brand in IPL but he really cares for Test cricket: Sanjay Manjrekar

Shubman Gill received rich praise from Sanjay Manjrekar as the former India cricketer lauded his will to succeed in the longest format of the game. The talented batter scored a brilliant 90 off 146 balls in India's first innings on Day 2 of the third Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, November 2.

Shubman's form in red-ball cricket has been topsy-turvy in the past but on Saturday, he showed why he is touted as one of the superstars of the modern era. On a difficult wicket for batting, Shubman hit seven fours and a solitary six during an excellent knock under pressure and helped India take a crucial 28-run lead in the first innings.

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Manjrekar noted that Shubman has established himself as a reliable batter in white-ball cricket, including the Indian Premier League (IPL). Still, he is trying his best to perform well in Test cricket for the national team. The former India cricketer feels that Shubman has some issues against left-arm spinners. However, the way he put a price on his wicket impressed him.

"For a guy who is a gifted white-ball player, a brand in IPL, Shubman Gill really cares for Test cricket. He wants to succeed in Test matches, and we can see that in the way he played. Still work to do against left-arm spin but he just wanted to hang in there. With just sheer grit it was great to see that big stars of today's generation caring about Test cricket," Manjrekar said.

India looking to avoid whitewash 

India were bowled out for 263 in their first innings as Ajaz Patel bagged a five-for. Apart from Shubman, Rishabh Pant also scored a half-century, getting to the landmark off just 36 balls. They formed an important partnership of 96 runs to take India to a healthy position in the Test match. The depth in India's batting helped them considerably as the partnerships for the last three wickets added 58 runs.

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In the second innings, New Zealand lost the wicket of Tom Latham in the first over. Devon Conway and Will Young formed a good partnership before the latter was dismissed in the 13th over. Rachin Ravindra departed off the following over as the Kiwis slumped to 94/4. Wickets kept tumbling towards the end of the day as the visitors finished on 171/9 at stumps. Will Young impressed once again by scoring a fighting 51 off 100 balls. Ravindra Jadeja has backed up his five-for in the first innings by taking four in the second.