Shubman Gill hits fifty on final day of Brisbane Test, India stay on course for win vs Australia

Shubman Gill showed his class and stood tall with his second fifty of the series as India stayed on course for a historic win on the final day of the Brisbane Test against Australia. The youngster, who hit a fifty in the Sydney Test, showed no signs of nerves on a tense final day in Brisbane after losing Rohit Sharma cheaply to Pat Cummins in the sixth over of the day. On day 5, it was Shubman Gill who showed his mettle as he tackled the quartet of Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood brilliantly to ensure that India did not panic and lose wickets in clusters.

After Rohit Sharma fell cheaply, Shubman Gill found confidence and support in Cheteshwar Pujara who once again continued on his blueprint of stonewalling the Australian bowlers as he scored at a strike-rate of 10. Shubman Gill got going with a fierce cut of Josh Hazlewood and he found the gaps at deep midwicket and deep extra cover on a consistent basis. Shubman Gill clipped Cameron Green to the deep midwicket fence for a boundary while he also tackled Nathan Lyon well. Mitchell Starc once again struggled for rhythm and Shubman Gill easily scored off him. The Punjab youngster notched up the milestone by punching Josh Hazlewood to cover for a couple and he notched up his highest Test score with a drive to long-off. Shubman Gill became the second-youngest player after Sunil Gavaskar to score a fifty in the fourth innings of a Test for India.

India stay on course

The partnership between Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill has crossed fifty as India headed into the lunch break on a high. The scoring rate is just over 2 and the cracks in the Gabba wicket have opened up. Australia, in particular, Pat Cummins, has bowled with tremendous discipline and India will be hoping that they can survive the final two sessions. 

There is a chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon session, with Accuweather predicting a 60 percent chance of rain towards the tea session. If India can hang on till that time, it will be a glorious result. India has never won a Test at the Gabba while Australia has not lost a Test at the venue since 1988.