It is always tempting to have a wicket-taking spinner like Kuldeep Yadav in the playing eleven but Washington Sundar was preferred for the Edgbaston Test against england to add batting depth after two lower-order collapses at Leeds, India captain Shubman Gill has said.
The debatable decision to include Washington in the eleven paid off as the left-hander chipped in with both bat and ball in different stages of the game. India will go to the Lord's Test with the same approach.
"It's very tempting when you have a bowler like Kuldeep. One of the reasons why I wanted to play Washington was because he gives us the batting depth," said Gill after India levelled the series with an emphatic win.
"And the first thing is, I think the partnership between me and Washington is very important. If there was no partnership, then I think our lead would have been 70-80-90 runs, which is psychologically very different from 180 run lead," he explained.
Gill feels the spinners give more control than pacers when the Dukes ball gets soft and unresponsive.
"As much as we expected, even on the fifth day, the ball was not moving that much from the middle, it was just moving from the rough.
"We thought that...maybe on our fifth day, a spinner will give us more control if the ball is moving from the wicket. And especially on such (flat) wickets, sometimes spin gives you more control than fast bowling. So that was our mindset," he said explaining the rationale behind Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja's inclusion.
Very important to stop runs in 30-70 over phase =============================== When the ball and pitch is not offering anything, Gill reckons it becomes even more important to contain the run flow as that is the only way to put pressure on the batters.
"When the ball becomes a little soft, on a wicket that is flat, the most important thing that becomes for us as a fielding or as a bowling unit is how do we stop those runs. Because we would get that second new ball.
"And it would be relatively easier to get wickets with a harder ball or with a second new ball. And when they were, I think, 83-5 in the first innings, straight after that we went for some short balls because I wanted to take that extra risk and see if we get that wicket. And that's where I think we leaked a lot of runs.
"But that was part of my plan. Because I wanted, if we would have gotten one wicket there, their tail would have started. And I think that gave them a little bit of momentum as well. But we were so ahead in the game that I could afford to take that risk," said Gill referring to the team's plans in the first innings at Edgbaston.
An England journalist had reminded Gill about India's winless record at Edgbaston in more than five decades.
When asked about his emotions following the 336-run win, Gill said focus remains on winning the series.
"...I even said before the Test match that I don't really believe in stats or histories. Like I said, over the 50-60 years, we played seven matches over different courses, different teams coming here.
"I believe this is the best Indian team...to be able to come here in England and we have the capability to beat them, to win the series from here. And we have got the right momentum with us. If we keep fighting, I think it would be one of the series to remember," he said.
Work on Test batting started in IPL ======================== Gill's use of the feet has been a standout feature of his batting, having hammered 585 runs in just four innings. He has shattered records and more can be broken in the coming few weeks.
Gill said he wants to make the most of his purple patch.
"When the IPL was coming to an end, that's when I started working. But the technique and the perception of the people, I think that changes after every series, every match. As a team or as a player, we don't focus much on what people are saying about you.
"If a good ball gets me out, it gets me out. But as long as I am there, I want to play as long as possible," added Gill.
