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Indian vice-captain Shubman Gill has shared his take on the debate surrounding his uncanny dismissal during the first ODI against England on Thursday (February 6) in Nagpur.
The Men in Blue sustained two early blows in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal (15) and Rohit Sharma (2) in response to England’s 248-run total. However, after coming to the crease at 19/2, Shreyas Iyer uplifted India’s spirits with his aggressive approach, while Gill played an anchor role. The duo stitched a 94-run stand, before Iyer departed after scoring 59 off 36 balls, with nine fours and two sixes.
Here’s what Shubman Gill said about playing with Iyer in the post-match presentation:
“He was playing his shots, and that allowed me to play sheet anchor role. It is better to take a back seat when the other batter is in that type of mood. When he departed, I decided to take the matter into my hands.”
After the departure of Iyer, Gill joined hands with Axar Patel (52 off 47), as the latter also looked confident with his stroke-filled innings, before getting bowled by Adil Rashid. KL Rahul was also dismissed by Rashid on 2 off 9, with India still requiring 24 runs.
Thereafter, Hardik Pandya hit a six and Shubman Gill sent one for a four. However, in his next delivery, Gill tried to make room, but pacer Saqib Mahmood followed him. As a result, the right-hander could only double-hit the ball and couldn’t make the required connection, and was caught at the mid-on by Jos Buttler.
Gill was dismissed for 87 off 96, and many felt Gill was trying to reach hundred en route to chasing down the score. However, the 25-year-old refused those claims and said:
“I was not targeting a hundred, and I was trying to dominate the bowlers. I would have played the same shot if 40-50 runs were needed to win the match. It feels good when you win matches for the country.”
Jadeja and Rana’s performances helped India restrict England to low score
In the first half, England started well initially against the Indian pacers with the opening partnership of Phil Salt and Ben Duckett. However, Salt was run-out for 43 by Shreyas Iyer, which ended the 75-run opening stand in the ninth over. In the next over, Rana got Duckett (32) caught to Yashasvi Jaiswal in a brilliant fashion. The right-arm pacer secured a crucial breakthrough of Harry Brook (0) in the same over to put England under pressure at 77/3.
Thereafter, Joe Root and Jos Buttler were trying to bring England back into the game with their partnership. However, spinner Ravindra Jadeja threw down a pacy delivery to trap Root (19). Rana kept England quiet by dismissing Liam Livingstone (5). Jacob Bethell (51) was looking to give a solid finish to the visitors, but Jadeja ruffled his pads to secure his wicket.
Thus, Jadeja (3/26) and Rana (3/53) played a key role in helping India restrict England for 248. Jadeja also contributed 12* off 10 to complete the chase under 39 overs.
