Shubman Gill's disdainful six off James Anderson leaves England captain Ben Stokes shocked in India vs England Test

Fourth over of the second morning of a Test match. A bowler who has 698 wickets - more than any other fast bowler in the history of the game - is running in with the hope of using the early freshness of the surface, perhaps even to check if there is any reverse on offer. What does the batter do? He charges down the track to hit the legendary bowler straight over his head for an 85m six. The times are changing in Test cricket. Actually, they have changed, we, the admirers of the game, just have to get accustomed to it.

Not that it needs much brainstorming for cricket fans but the bowler in question was England's Jimmy Anderson and the batter, India's Shubman Gill. This has been a difficult series for Anderson. Not because he has bowled poorly, he rarely (never) does but because his wickets column hasn't changed much and he hasn't quite got the respect that he deserves from India's young batters. The second part would hurt Anderson more.

It was Yashasvi Jaiswal, who took him to the cleaners by hitting him for a hat-trick of sixes on Day 4 of the third Test in Rajkot. on Day 2 of the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala, it was Gill's turn. The right-hander was not as severe as his teammate but the shot that he hit in the second ball of the 34th over of the Indian innings would be talked about for long.

India vs England 5th Test Live Score

Anderson was looking for reverse swing. The field was set for a line straighter to the stumps. Gill anticipated that. Just when Anderson was about to release the ball he took a couple of steps straight down the wicket. Took the ball on the half-volley and it straight over Anderson's head for a six. It was classy. It was audacious. It was giving Bazball a taste of its own medicine.

The expression of England captain Ben Stokes said it all.

Watch: Shubman Gill charges down the track to hit James Anderson for a straight six

Did Gill plan for this? We would never know but the way he held the pose, tracking the ball's trajectory into the stands would always make the fans wonder.

That six somewhat rattled Anderson. He dragged his length back a couple of balls later and Gill pounced on the width, flat batting the ball to the right of point for a boundary. It was a statement of sorts from India in the first session of Day 2.

This has been an unlike Gill innings. He shed the watchful tag and looked positive right from the onset. His first six came on the last over of Day 1. Yes, you read that right. He is the same batter who took 120 balls to hit a boundary in the second innings of the fourth Test. Batting situation and all that.

He reached his fifty off just 64 balls, one of his fastest in Test cricket.

Earlier, India took the honours on Day 1 courtesy of Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm wrist spinner ran through England's top and middle-order with a record-breaking spell of bowling before Ravichandran Ashwin, in his 100th Test, made light work of the lower order. India bowled England out for 218 after Ben Stokes opted to bat.

In reply, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma gave India a rollicking start, which they have done so often in this series. Jaiswal became the second Indian batter after Sunil Gavaskar to score more than 700 runs in a series. The left-hander was out for 57 off 58 balls while trying to hit Shoaib Bashir for a lofted shot. Rohit (52*) and Shubam Gill (26*) made sure there were no further losses as India reached 135/1 at stumps.