Don’t be swayed by his nonchalant approach at the crease, Shubman Gill can destroy any bowling with his self-belief and aggression. New Zealand learnt it the hard way in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
If you needed assurance about India’s batting future after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Gill provided some glimpses during his maiden double century in the opening ODI.
There was never any doubt about his potential at the highest level. The 23-yearold has long been considered as one with immense talent and flair, who also has the ability to shoulder the responsibility of India’s batting in all formats. Yet, he rarely did justice to his prospects by throwing away his wicket after having done the groundwork.
Gill’s place in the squad was being questioned after Ishan Kishan’s double century in Bangladesh last month. Gill regained his opening slot at the cost of Ishan, whom he described as “one of my best mates in the side”.
Gill’s brutal assault on the New Zealand bowlers towards the end of India’s innings — six sixes in a space of 11 balls — was a statement of intent. He launched three consecutive sixes against Lockie Ferguson to become the youngest double-centurion in ODI cricket. He epitomises the new face of Indian cricket — confident, classy and graceful.
That the second-highest score in India’s innings was Rohit Sharma’s 34 showed the magnaminity of Gill’s innings. He was dropped twice, but nothing could stop him from holding fort in the middle and end overs with his attacking batting.
“It (the double-century) means a lot to me obviously,” Gill said at the post-match media conference. “I think in the first ODI against Sri Lanka and in the third ODI, I was set, and I was looking to get a big score, but unfortunately that didn’t happen for me.
“Once I was set, the main focus for me was to obviously be there for the team and score as many runs as possible. And it feels good when it pays off.
“It wasn’t a conscious effort (to keep batting aggressively) I would say, but with an extra fielder inside the circle, we see other teams pushing in the middle overs... And even when wickets were falling, my main focus was to show some intent to the bowler because it becomes very easy for the bowler to bowl dot balls if the batsman is not going to show any intent. So that was my intent.
“I wouldn’t say it (hitting the sixes) was a wow feeling but it feels nice when, you know, you’re wanting to do something, when you’re wanting to hit the gaps, when you’re wanting to hit the sixes, and it’s coming off on a regular basis. There’s definitely some kind of satisfaction in that.”
Gill said that he started thinking about a double hundred only in the 48th over. “The game went closer than what I expected. But yeah, this is definitely one of those things. This is what dreams are made of.”
