Shubman Gill was an elated man for being declared India’s Player-of-the-Series, chosen by opposition coach Brendon McCullum, as well as leading his side to a 2-2 draw in the five-match Test against England.

Gill said every game went into the final day, which shows how competitive both sides were, adding that captaincy becomes easier by having bowlers like Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna in your ranks.

“Definitely both the teams played brilliantly throughout the series. Both the teams came up with their A game, happy to get on the right side today. When you have bowlers like Siraj and Prasidh, captaincy seems easy. They were making the ball talk," Gill said at the post-match presentation.

The Indian skipper further stated that India were confident even on Day 4 despite Harry Brook and Joe Root taking their attack to the cleaners, saying that after a couple of wickets fell, they knew England feeling the heat.

“Yes, there was a bit of pressure on us but they were really bowling well. We were confident. We wanted them to feel the pressure throughput the 37 runs they scored," he added.

When asked about having Siraj, who was adjudged Player-of-the-Match for his five-wicket haul, in his team, Gill remarked: “He is a captain’s dream, every ball, every spell he bowled he came all out and gave it everything for the team."

On being asked whether a 2-2 scoreline was fair reflection in the end, the captain replied: “Both teams coming into Day 5 not knowing who would win shows how passionate both teams were and how hard everyone has played. Feels very rewarding, there were certain things I wanted to work on as a batter and it was a goal to end as the best batter of this series, glad to get that goal."

“It is always a combination of technique and mentality, when you are feeling good mentally then the technique naturally flows," he added.

As for what he learnt from the series, Gill came up with a sharp retort: “That we never give up."

Chasing 374 to win, the hosts were at 339/6 when bad light and rain brought an early end to the fourth day’s play.

The visitors swiftly took the remaining four wickets, ending England’s second innings at 367 in 85.1 overs. While Siraj returned with the figures of 5/104 in his 30.1 overs, Prasidh Krishna bagged four wickets (4-126 in 27 overs) and Akash Deep claimed one scalp.