New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson produced a stunning delivery to get rid of the well-set India batter Shubman Gill on the opening day of the first Test at Green Park, Kanpur on Thursday (November 26).
In the post-lunch session, Jamieson got one to curl back in and the delivery breached through the defence of Gill, who scored 52 and looked in good touch.
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Speaking after the day’s play, Gill praised Jamieson, saying he didn’t expect reverse swing so early in the game and also admitted that he wasn’t able to read the delivery.
“I think he (Jamieson) bowled pretty well today especially in the first spell, he bowled pretty good areas to me and after lunch, the whole spell that he bowled was top notch,” Gill said in the press conference.
“Sometimes, it’s difficult to start knowing when it’s reverse-swinging and especially after coming back from lunch, I didn’t expect the ball to reverse that early in the game,” he added.
“That’s the thing about Test cricket, you have to read the conditions fast. In this particular innings, I wasn’t able to read that ball well as generally, I wasn’t expecting the ball to reverse.”
Shubman Gill countered New Zealand’s spin duo of Ajaz Patel and Will Somerville brilliantly and he attributed it to playing R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the nets.
“If you are already playing two of the best spinners in nets, especially in India, it does help, because if you try to negotiate them, you have a much better chance of going in the middle of the match and trying to handle those crucial periods of time.”
The right-hander was happy to be playing in front of fans, who were kept out of stadiums for a long time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Obviously, it felt good, to be able to play a match in India with crowd back and we are looking forward towards the rest of match.”
Gill also feels good to have head coach Rahul Dravid around him, someone who has mentored him in age-group cricket.
“It does make a difference when you gave played age-group cricket under him. You would know what to expect from that person.
“Rahul sir was with us throughout our Under-19 days and not just the World Cup but the entire journey we had,” he concluded.
India ended the opening day on 258/4 after losing three wickets in the second session. Debutant Shreyas Iyer (75*) and Ravindra Jadeja (50*) were unbeaten in the middle.
(With PTI inputs)
