Shubman Gill looked like he belonged to international cricket, says McGrath

Gill had scored 33 runs off 39 balls in the third ODI against Australia earlier this month.

Melbourne: Former Australia pacer Glenn McGrath praised Shubman Gill and recalled how the Indian batsman had impressed him in the third ODI at Sydney.

Gill had scored 33 runs off 39 balls in the third ODI against Australia earlier this month. The right-handed batsman also impressed the legendary bowler McGrath after his knock on the Boxing Day Test on Saturday.

McGrath said he felt Gill looked like he belonged to international cricket during the ODI series. The right-handed batsman, however, didn't last too long and was dismissed by Pat Cummins on day two of the Boxing Day Test on Sunday.

Glenn McGrath

"When I saw him the other day in the ODI, I thought he had a good technique, he looked like he belonged to international cricket," McGrath was quoted as saying by broadcasters.

"It was a pretty tough introduction to Test cricket there with the way Starc and Cummins were bowling, they (the batsmen) were playing and missing, there was that one edge that Labuschagne put down, but apart from that he looked pretty solid," he added.

Cummins provided Australia with a perfect start on day two. If Mitchell Starc gave Australia the breakthrough on day one, it was Cummins who stole the show with his fiery spell.

It wasn't a good start for the hosts as the day started with an unsuccessful review and a dropped catch but Cummins ensured Australia were right back on top courtesy of his fiery spell.

Cummins gave Australia an upper hand in the game after two wickets in the first session. The speedster sent both Gill (45) and Pujara (17) back to the pavilion but Rahane and Vihari stood tall against the potent bowling attack and took India to lunch with no more hiccups.

Resuming day two from 36/1, Gill and Pujara weathered the storm during the first hour of the play. However, their 61-run partnership was ended by Cummins as Gill fell short of his maiden Test half-century.

Cummins made sure Australia didn't lose any momentum as he sent back Pujara in his next over. Skipper Tim Paine took a superb one-handed catch to leave India at 64/3.

Just when it looked like Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari had steadied the ship for India, Nathan Lyon spun a web. Vihari departed right after bringing up the 50-run stand with Rahane as he attempted a sweep off Lyon and got caught by Steve Smith.