Shubman Gill reflects on special knock: "I was itching to unleash myself"

Team India opener Shubman Gill has revealed that he wanted to break free a lot sooner than he did in the Hyderabad ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday, January 18. He added that with wickets falling at the other end, he had to rein himself in until the last couple of overs.

Gill, 23, created history in the first ODI, becoming the youngest batter to smash a double hundred in the format. He scored 208 off 149 balls, hammering 19 fours and nine sixes. Thanks to his brilliance, India posted 349/8 and went on to clinch the game by 12 runs.

It was pretty much a one-man show from Gill as the next-best score in India’s innings was 34 from skipper Rohit Sharma. Reflecting on his spectacular performance, the batter admitted that he was itching to open up in the last 10 overs but had to hold himself back. The youngster said at a press conference:

“Once in England, I think I hit six sixes in seven balls. (Here) I was itching to unleash myself (earlier), but with wickets falling at regular intervals, it was important for me and this was the message from the dressing room that I have to bat till the end. I had to contain myself and play more in a safe way.”

India have been guilty of being conservative in the middle overs in ODIs over the last couple of years. However, during the Sri Lanka series as well as in Hyderabad on Wednesday, they showed much better intent during the same phase. On whether there was a specific plan in place, Gill replied:

“Not a conscious effort, but with the extra fielder inside the circle, we see other teams pushing in the middle overs. When wickets were falling, my main focus was to show intent to the bowler; otherwise it becomes easy for bowlers to bowl dot balls.”

The Indian opener added 65 for the fourth wicket with Suryakumar Yadav (31) and 74 for the fifth wicket with Hardik Pandya (28 off 38) to consolidate the innings.

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“Making Yuvi paaji and my dad proud is a special feeling” - Shubman Gill

Following Gill’s magnificent double hundred, his mentor Yuvraj Singh took to social media and tweeted that it was a very proud day for him and the opener’s dad. Asked about his thoughts on Yuvraj’s emotional tweet, Gill admitted that it was a nice feeling. He elaborated:

“Yuvi paaji has been a mentor to me, like a big brother. During lockdown and after that as well, he kept talking to me about batting. My dad has been my primary coach since I started playing cricket. Making Yuvi paaji and my dad proud is a special feeling.”

After Gill’s 208 set New Zealand a target of 350, Michael Bracewell slammed 140 off 78 as the visitors responded with a gritty 337 all-out.