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IND vs ENG News: With the first-ever Anderson-Tendulkar ending 2-2, Shubman Gill-led Team India drew back-to-back Test series on an England tour. It was a massive task for head coach Gautam Gambhir and the team management as Team India had to overcome the 3-1 series loss to Australia. Before Australia, the abomination of getting 3-0 whitewashed by New Zealand at home, which significantly reduced our chances to qualify for WTC 2025 final, also dented the confidence of Indian batters.

The Test retirements of the big three - Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin also didn't do any favours to the young side.

So what changed? It was the approach of the Indian batters, who were asked to reduce their false shot percentage. As per a report in The Indian Express, Gambhir and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak worked out a plan for the batters. To minimise the false-shot percentage. What followed was hours of batting practice where captain Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant were asked to bank on their white-ball experience to play shots closer to the body and avoiding the wider deliveries.

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Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant - the best two Indian batters in the series

Gambhir and Kotak adopted a traditional approach in England, especially Gill and Pant. The famous 'stupid, stupid, stupid' rant of former legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar turned into praise for wicket-keeper batter's 'stupid, stupid, stupid' turned into praise.

"Aap apni khamiyon pe work karte ho (You work on your limitations) ... that helps to change a setback into a comeback ... I am able to change myself through hard work, focus, and a bit of discipline," as per the report by The Indian Express.

Both Gill and Pant smashed more than 1200 runs in the series combined, with the Indian team amassing a stellar 3809 runs in the series, which was the second highest for any team in the history of red-ball cricket.

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Furthermore, Gill concluded the five-Test series with 754 runs across 10 outings at a phenomenal average of 75.40 that also landed him the Player of the Series award. His marathon 754 in the series was the second highest ever in a WTC tournament.

Inputs from Agencies