Nagpur:
As India slumped to 19/2 within the sixth over chasing a modest goal of 249 in 50 overs, all Shubman Gill was considering of was to remain positive and never to take too many risks and never get too defensive. Player of the Match Gill did all these items, top-scored for India with 87 and shared crucial partnerships with Shreyas Iyer (59) and Axar Patel (52) to assist India to a four-wicket win over England in the primary ODI of the three-match series on the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium here on Thursday.
India went into the match without the talismanic Virat Kohli, who was unavailable due to a sore right knee, and at that juncture losing Yashasvi Jaiswal (15) and Rohit Sharma (2) cheaply was a recipe for disaster. But Gill batted sensibly and with Iyer playing a counter-attacking innings, helped India to safety.
Gill said his thoughts at 19/2 were to be positive and play sensibly because the pacers were getting some assistance.
“Attempting to be positive. There was slightly in it for fast bowlers. (The) idea was to not go an excessive amount of on the back foot and play good cricketing shots. When a player (Iyer) comes like that, the opposition also goes on the back foot. Good decision on his (Iyer’s) part also helped me,” said Gill within the post-match presentation.
Gill said batting was a bit difficult because the wicket got a bit sticky within the second innings.
“I believed it was a bit double-paced. Spinners varied their pace well, after they bowled slow, it was turning. Had it in mind to look to the square of the wicket and never attempt to hit down the bottom,” said Gill.
Asked about his role after being promoted to vice-captain, Gill said nothing much has modified for him when it comes to batting.
“In batting not much has modified, but on the sector, I would like to know what the considering is and what Rohit bhai thinks and provides my inputs. He tells me if you need to tell me anything within the match, don’t hesitate,” said Gill.
With the Champions Trophy in Dubai looming on the horizon, Gill would hope to proceed in the identical vein in the following two ODIs against England and go into the ICC tournament with some big runs behind him.
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