Shubman Gill played a variety of sweep strokes in the Vizag nets, including the full-blooded one in front of the square, the aerial one behind, the lap sweep, and the reverse sweep. Playing a half-squat, half-sweep, half-pull to find the boundary, he had not quite accounted for this kind of ball in his training. He had played five dot balls at the beginning of his second innings in the Test match.

It was a classic Gill shot since he might have been planning a sweep on the run when Tom Hartley hit the short ball. So Gill gave his reaction. Consider the short-arm jab he uses against fast bowling, which is broader than the short ball but shorter than a decent length.

Looking at one shot as an indication of a liberated batter is an oversimplification. Still, the 24-year-old did attribute his third Test century to “staying true to who you are and how you have gotten there”.

Before today, he had been experiencing an identity problem in his previous 13 innings of test cricket. Batting became a less harmonic system of moving pieces as the calendar moved to 2024. Because, for the majority of last year, he appeared infallible, unstoppable, and unavoidable. Whatever format.

And then, without warning, a lean run started. Then there were dismissals for spin and pace while pressing forward with forceful hands in defence, and LBW when defending with bat next to pad. When you shine as brightly as Gill did, the focus on failure is inevitably harsher. A rookie player may start second-guessing and over-analyzing.

For a while, India has only scheduled optional practice sessions on the day before a game. Most hitters prefer not to practice elaborate nets the day before a Test, both to avoid overexertion and because players have their preparations in place and do not want to introduce poor habits at the last minute. Only marginal players hoping to break in or those needing specialized top-ups usually show up.

Gill was among the select few batsmen who warmed up on the two days before the Vizag Test. The goal, it seemed, was to discover better, proactive remedies to spin. On the first day, both the chip-and-charge and the previously described sweep shots were tested. The second day was less theatrical, but it was perhaps one of his best defensive performances in recent memory, as he met deliveries under his eyes. When he was finished, he carried two net bowlers to the far end of the training area to bowl more deliveries.

That was not all. Gill returned to the outfield with batting coach Vikram Rathour at the close of the second day of play, when his colleagues had withdrawn into the dressing room after a freakish Jasprit Bumrah bowling display.

All of this may indicate that a player is feeling the heat. However, that may not be true. During last year’s IPL season, his Gujarat Titans partner Vijay Shankar praised his work ethic and how Gill showed up for every practice session, despite reeling up hundreds for pleasure. He remained faithful to himself, even as the meetings became more fidgety than free-flowing. However, they had to translate into actual outcomes. It was no longer the ‘how’ but the ‘how many’ that mattered to a guy regarded, whether or unfairly, as the standard bearer for the coming generations of all-format batters.

He had a tough start. India was two down against James Anderson. There was some moisture in the topsoil early on, and getting through the first hour was a true challenge for the hitters. With the ground drenched in sunshine for the rest of the day, it had become evident over the previous days that the pitch is not a bowler’s friend in the long run, but things were occurring for the time being, whenever Anderson or even Tom Hartley landed the new SG on its seam.

Gill received one of those dreadful balls from a left-arm spinner immediately following that half-squat, half-sweep, half-pull. On a length, pulling him forward. He played for a turn, but there was none, and the umpire declared him LBW. Even though he felt he was out, but was requested to review by non-striker Shreyas Iyer with the best-case scenario of receiving ‘Umpire’s Call’, which meant he would not be returning to the dressing room with a review and another low score. He was unaware that there was an inside edge.

As he saw the clip, he gave a sheepish grin, implying that he was enjoying his struggle while also being conscious of how mortal it made him appear. Anderson’s next over featured another review. He was saved once more, this time by the Umpire’s Call. Runs were hard to come by, and they had been for a while.

It was just him in the cauldron. There are no throwdown specialists, coaches, or analysts with monitors to motivate him. The single person on his side was 22 yards distant, and eleven of them wanted him to fail again. Perhaps the reprieves acted as a reminder to forget about everything else, including his batting average and rut, and let instincts take over.

The tide began to change when he began playing balls on merit. The sun dried up the wetness on the surface, and Anderson was no longer on the attack. Shoaib Bashir, an off-spinner, floated a delivery into the path of his charge. Six, directly into the sightscreen. There was another escape at slip, but the follow-up was saved for another four.

Rehan Ahmed, a legspinner, arrived but did not deliver a solid-length ball. Gill hit two beautiful cut shots for four. In the next over, two full balls were bowled, one down the ground and the other through extra cover. There was a 60-ball half-century.

After lunch, Ben Stokes attempted to squeeze his runs by having the legspinner bowl into the rough from around the wicket. Gill danced out of his crease, allowing himself to release his arms before swinging it into the stands directly behind the bowler. He swept the next ball over short-fine, and as the gap behind square was filled, he whipped one past mid-wicket. 14 from 3, the runs were back flowing in a deluge.

The proportion of play between the boundaries – smashing the ball into gaps and too long on and long off – was also important in ensuring he never got bogged down and could play the innings he desired. At least until he reached that relief-providing century, which he celebrated without his usual swagger. However, he was eliminated the moment he got ahead of himself and attempted to reverse-sweep his way out of a 6-3 leg trap. Ironically, through a review.

His dismissal at the wrong time will irritate him. He will have wanted to bat on late into the last session, putting the game out of England’s reach, but his dismissal opened the door for them to slip in. Beating the opposition is inevitable. Today was all about overcoming his obstacles.