Englishmen left ‘smelling’ Indian centurion Shuman Gill’s black socks

It may be too early to make a comparison between two captains who took the field on Day 1 of the India versus England Test match at Leeds on Friday. Yet, watching the scoreboard at close, one did get the feeling, Shubman Gill versus seasoned Ben Stokes was a mental battle which had won by the debutant captain as he remained unbeaten on 127.

Bazball or whatever you call the stuff coined by the Englishmen, what Gill showed as a batter who has been put under the lens in overseas tours and was leading for the first time in Old Blighty came as a whiff of fresh air. The runs he scored was monumental, even as Stokes would have walked back to the dressing room left high and dry as the scoreboard stared at him – India 359 for three at close.

For those who were seated inside the hallowed precincts of the cricketing venue, chosen as the series opener, this was a surprise. If Stokes was hoping Leeds would bring them luck and they could go up in the series, this turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. Perhaps, more than the strength of his own bowling attack, Ben Stokes the seasoned leader had relied more on stats to win the toss and bowl. It turned out to be a decision he would have repented even after the first session, when lunch was taken. By that time, Young Turk Yashavsi Jaiswal and KL Rahul had shown character and composure. Jaiswal went on to score a fast ton but what stood out was the new captain in command.

Shubman Gill has faced probing questions on his elevation as skipper. The BCCI and the think-tank did cause a flutter when they named the young man from Punjab as skipper. Hey, had he not failed in the Border Gavaskar Trophy Series Down Under at the start of 2025. Well, Gill was unperturbed by all this chatter. And even when he had spoken to Sky Sports two days before the commencement of the first Test, he was calm and reassuring. To translate words into action and bat like a champion, Gill was composed. As he batted with freedom and freshness against a prosaic English attack which was toothless, Gill showed two things, how he was ready to step up as a batter as well as lead and set an example.

The kind of authority with which he batted at the crease was defining. First, he featured in a solid partnership with young Jaiswal. What followed was an avalanche of runs as Gill was stroking smoothly, where the English bowling, a combination of pedestrian medium pacers and an overhyped spinner Shoaib Bashir were exposed. Back to the captaincy contest between Gill and Ben Stokes, the Englishman realised he had made an error by doing the insertion job. Was the green tinge responsible for Stokes taking that decision or did cold stats come into play? After all, to bowl 85 overs and take just three wickets was a crime which cannot be condoned. Yes, the records suggest Headingley, Leeds, was good for teams which bowled first in the last six Test matches. They won.

Ah, if such logic alone and not quality of bowling be the yardstick to make big decisions, Stokes was flummoxed. His own frontline bowlers were average and he had to come into the attack early. Surprise that, since Ben Stokes had done that more in desperation to get wickets. For those who have cast aspersions on Gill the batter, suspect overseas, his essay was classy.

There was no sign of any technical weakness. If anything, the way he and his deputy Rishabh Pant batted was to expose the English attack which was minus Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson. The bowlers on view, Chris Woakes, Byrdon Carse, Josh Tongue and two more – Stokes and Bashir – were exposed. On a day when the sun shone and the Indian batters were in full bloom, Gill and Rishabh Pant (batting 65 off 102 balls) defined the new era. After all, this captain and vice-captain duo is there at the crease with feet firmly planted.

For the Englishmen who crib and like to find fault, the only flaw was the colour of Shubman Gill’s socks – black. In the name of tradition, Sky Sports had posted photos of the black socks on social media. In the process, there was more backlash for England, as they were looking at the feet of Gill. Rather, Gill brought them down to their knees early.