IND vs ENG: Broken but beautiful - How Shubman Gill got his century-hitting bat fixed before the first Test

Shubman Gill's Century at Headingley Achieved with Repaired Bat

On the opening day of the first Test match between India and England, Shubman Gill delivered a stunning performance at Headingley Cricket Ground, scoring an unbeaten 127. This century marked a memorable start to his captaincy.

Gill joins an elite group of Indian cricketers – Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Virat Kohli – who have scored centuries in their first Test as captain.

The story behind this century is even more remarkable. During India's intra-squad match at Beckenham, Kent, Gill damaged one of his favorite bats. He then contacted Cricfix_batservices, a bat repair company based in Kent, via text message.

The company shared a video on Instagram detailing the damage to Shubman Gill's bat and the repair process.

According to the shop's owner, Shubman Gill damaged the toe of the bat during a training session. The company picked up the bat to repair it before the Test match. The owner explained that Gill likely dug out a yorker, causing a significant indentation and splits in the bat's toe.

The repair involved gluing the cracks and inserting a wedge to flatten the damaged area. The bat was then lightly sanded to avoid affecting its performance.

Gill requested thread binding on the toe for added support and a fabric facing. The company buffed and polished the bat to restore its appearance.

The owner of Cricfix_batservices expressed excitement about seeing Gill use the repaired bat in training the following day and wished him well for the series.

One fan commented on the Instagram post, "Looks like it's working out for him! 127*," to which the owner replied humorously, "Not sure whether to be happy or not 😄."

India resumed Day 2 at 359 for 3, with Vice-captain Rishabh Pant batting on 65 alongside Gill.