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

Shubman Gill's magnificent, unbeaten 127 at Headingley Cricket Ground marked a stellar opening day of the first Test match between India and England. The Indian captain reached his century in the final session, a memorable beginning to his captaincy.

Shubman Gill's century was achieved using a bat repaired before the match.

Gill now joins the ranks of Indian cricketing legends Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Virat Kohli, all of whom scored centuries in their first Test as captain.

Interestingly, one of Gill's favorite bats was damaged during India's intra-squad match at Beckenham, Kent. He contacted Cricfix_batservices, a Kent-based company specializing in bat repairs.

In an Instagram video, the company detailed the damage and repair process. According to the shop owner, Shubman contacted them after damaging the toe of his bat during a training session, requesting an urgent repair before the Test match.

The owner explained, "It looks like he had to dig out a nasty yorker during training, and it left this nasty indentation and a couple of splits that we needed to fix." The repair involved gluing the cracks and inserting a small wedge to flatten the damaged area. "Then we lightly sanded the bat, as it's one of Shubman's favourites and he didn't want to affect the ping in any way."

The bat was buffed and polished for a renewed look. Shubman also requested thread binding to reinforce the toe and opted for a fabric facing.

The company concluded, "Here's the finished bat, looking brand new once again — toe repair all sorted. It was really cool to see him using it again in training the next day. I'm wishing him all the best for the series ahead."

A fan's comment, "Looks like it's working out for him! 127*," was met with the reply, "Not sure whether to be happy or not 😄."

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