Shubman Gill starred with the bat in India’s series-clinching 168-run victory over New Zealand in the third and final T20I at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Wednesday (February 1).
Opening the innings, Gill slammed 126 not out off 63 balls, propelling the hosts to a mammoth 234/4 in 20 overs. With this knock, he also became only the fifth Indian batter after Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli to hit a century across formats.
In his first five T20Is, Shubman had amassed 76 runs and questions were raised over his place in the team. However, skipper Hardik Pandya decided to stick with him and the young batter repaid his faith by making India’s highest T20I score.
After scripting India’s 2-1 series win, Shubman Gill interacted with Hardik for bcci.tv and thanked the captain for backing him after low scores.
“I didn’t do well up to my expectations in T20s. So I was eager to do well. You gave me the confidence before the match. Before I went to the game, you told me match se pehle ki jaise main khelta hu vaise hi khelo (before the match, you asked me to keep faith in my game). Vo chhoti chhoti cheez help karti hai (those small things help) when I know I don’t have to do anything extra, or anything that’s not me. That helped today. The way I practice, the way my dad made me practice, I think 90 percent credit goes to him,” Gill stated.
The 23-year-old also credited Hardik Pandya for helping him keep his aggression in check during his maiden T20I century.
“To be able to play how I play, I’ve to be very mentally clear. That’s what you told me. Every time I hit a six, he (Hardik) came and told me hold your shape. You don’t have to do anything extra. Don’t try to go too hard. Every ball, he kept reminding me. Especially in the last over against Santner. I was in the zone, I was hitting. I thought maybe I will go for him. But you told me to hold myself back, and to target the other bowlers. Because he had been bowling well. Tactically and technically, it was a near-perfect game for me,” added Gill.
Here’s the video:
