Dubai, Feb 20 After continuing his rich vein of form by hitting his eighth ODI century, also his first Champions Trophy ton, in India’s six-wicket win over Bangladesh, vice-captain Shubman Gill admitted that his knock of 101 not out is definitely one of his most satisfying innings so far.
Chasing 229 at the Dubai International Stadium, Gill’s unbeaten 101 off 129 balls, laced with nine fours and two sixes, played a vital part in keeping India steady in the chase after losing Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel.
Though Gill hit his slowest ODI hundred, it was worth its weight in gold for India to go into the clash against Pakistan on Sunday with more confidence, after being tested thoroughly by Bangladesh’s bowlers on a sluggish pitch with no dew around.
“Definitely one of the most satisfying innings that I have played and my first century in ICC events. Very satisfied and very happy with the way I performed. When me and Rohit bhai went out there, we thought cutting the ball wasn't easy because the balls, which were outside the off-stump, weren't coming onto the bat that nicely.”
“So I thought of using my feet to even the fast bowlers and tried to go over the circle. When the spinners came on, me and Virat bhai were talking in the middle that it's not easy to score singles off the front foot, so we'll try to score singles off the back foot,” said Gill after the match ended.
When things became tricky, Gill, the new top-ranked ODI batter, stood solidly to share an unbroken 87-run fifth-wicket stand with KL Rahul, who made a calm and composed 41 not out. “And it's not easy to hit down the ground, so we just keep rotating the strike. At one point, there was a bit of pressure on us.”
“The message was sent from outside that I have to try to bat till the end and that's what I tried to do. The first one (six) gave me a lot of confidence and the second one helped me come closer to my hundred, so both were very satisfying,” concluded Gill.
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