Mikel Arteta’s first experience of Anfield’s atmosphere came in the 2021-22 Premier League season. His Arsenal side arrived on a 10-game unbeaten run and for the first half-hour, held their own against Liverpool.
Things turned in the 33rd minute, when a Sadio Mane challenge on right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu incensed Arteta. He immediately made a beeline towards Jurgen Klopp on the touchline, steam coming out of his ears. The two squared off in a shouting match that required the fourth-official to intervene. Arteta had to be dragged away by his assistant but by then, the damage had been done.
His outburst had ignited the Anfield crowd and spurred on Liverpool, who took the lead minutes later. The tide swung and engulfed Arsenal, who went on to lose the game 4-0. Their defending was calamitous but the head-loss on the night could be traced back to their manager.
The third Test at Lord’s could prove to be a fork in Shubman Gill’s journey as a leader in the way Anfield was for Arteta. Like the Spaniard, Gill fell prey to his ego. His attempts to show he wasn’t a pushover came to the detriment of his team.
In his post-match press conference, the Indian captain referenced Rishabh Pant’s run-out on Day 3 as a turning point in the Test. It undoubtedly was but Gill’s decision to square up to Zak Crawley in the last session of that day felt an equally big inflection point.
The England opener’s time-wasting tactics would have infuriated most opposition captains. But when you’ve been put into bat after 6:20 pm, it was expected. Gill’s finger-wagging and calls for Crawley to grow genitalia felt almost performative. Virat Kohli’s shadow has hung over this Test, and it felt like Gill had spent far too much time watching ‘60 overs of hell’ compilations soundtracked to Udta Punjab.
It’s telling that India’s two-most senior players on the field - KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah - were far less perturbed by Crawley’s actions. The only player as charged up as Gill was Mohammed Siraj, but that was expected from one of the game’s most prominent shithousers.
Gill’s outburst turned the tenor of the game and made the battle personal. Few teams weaponise that sentiment better than England. Proving a point is Bazball’s currency and unity its foundation block.
India don’t yet have the emotional intelligence for confrontations of this type. Six of the XI, including Gill, are playing in their first series in England. The Indian lineup have played an average of 33 Tests, while England’s have played 51.
Everyone can throw a punch but you don’t step into the ring if you don’t know how to take one. Gill’s innings in the final session of Day 4 was evidence of this. Of the nine balls he faced, he played-and-missed three and got bat on just two. The impatience in his batting felt as uncharacteristic as his venomous outburst from the day before.
Akash Deep being needed to be reminded by Harry Brook that the role of a nightwatchman is to eat up deliveries, and Washington Sundar’s comments of wrapping up the game after lunch on Day 5 were further indications of India’s overly-emotional state.
This England side are adept at rousing to the occasion. Even Jofra Archer, a player who typically lets his ball do the talking, made it a point to spray Pant and Sundar after dismissing them on the morning of Day 5. Ravindra Jadeja’s quiet and calculating defiance was really the first time in the game that England began to look rattled.
This tour was always going to be a baptism by fire for Gill. But at Lord’s, he managed to burn himself. His aggression felt like that of a captain who doesn’t fully understand his team. And, himself.
Consumption Corner
Listen: A 2am YouTube rabbit hole led me to this and made me more emotional than I’d like to admit.
Watch: I watched F1 in the theatre last week and enjoyed it tremendously. I’m not a fan of F1 in general, but few sports translate better into ∽content∽ than it does.
Read: A fun read in The Times on a day in the life of Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon.
Enjoyed this piece!! Superb sports writing as always