IPL 2020: Shubman Gill reveals how a simple plan and power hitting practice worked for him

Gill praised Pat Cummins for his amazing bowling against SRH.

By Jatin Sharma - 27 Sep, 2020

Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) young opener Shubman Gill has finally gotten his chance to open the innings in the IPL 2020 on a permanent basis and has shown that he has brought some changes into his gameplay as well.

Regarded as one of the brightest young talents in Indian cricket, Gill, in a post-match press conference, said that it's his duty to bat through the innings as an opener.  He stroked an amazing 70* in 62 balls against SRH on Sept 26 to guide his team to an impressive 7-wicket win.

"I think as an opener, it's very important to stay there and it's your duty to see the team through. The plan was simple. I was there to get set and see my team through. The total wasn't that big. So it was important for me to stay there. As a batting unit, I think we all did well,” Gill said.

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"I think the ball was not spinning much and (it) was easy to hit down the ground. I have practiced power hitting in the last couple of years. I think it was important for us to win. We bowled really and we had to back it up with a good performance. There were not any long conversations with Morgan. We were just trying to anticipate what the bowlers can try and do," said Gill.

He also said that the team’s plan is for Sunil Narine to keep opening the innings with him, despite him not making any runs in the two matches KKR has played. "It's a team decision. As of now, I think we are sticking to Sunil Narine. In the past, he has really done a good job for us,” Gill said.

The young batsman from Punjab was all praise for his teammate, Australia’s Pat Cummins, who brushed off the thrashing against RR and returned with figures of 1/19 in 4 overs against SRH.

"One odd day doesn't mean much to us and he (Cummins) bowled really well in this game. Pat is one of the best bowlers in the world right now. We had to start with Pat and Sunil,” Gill said.

KKR now has two points from two matches and will next face Rajasthan Royals on September 30 in their away fixture in Dubai.

(PTI inputs)

By Jatin Sharma - 27 Sep, 2020

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