‘Definitely one of my most satisfying innings …’: Shubman Gill after a masterful ODI hundred in Champions Trophy opener | Cricket News – The Times of India

TimesofIndia.com in Dubai: Moments before the helmet came off and he broke into the trademark Shubman Gill bow to celebrate the three-figure mark, the 25-year-old was smiling ear to ear. There was a punch on the bat and the beaming smile didn’t leave his face when he acknowledged the applause from the dressing room and the stands.
It wasn’t the first time he was bowing down and soaking it all in but this, by his own admission, was accompanied by a feeling of immense satisfaction.
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The Indian vice-captain’s ODI hundred No.8 was his slowest in the format but will rank right up there for the quality, control and application. It wasn’t the typical flowy Gill hundred but the one which required him to change his game as per situation, make the little adjustments and then see the side home with a lot of maturity.
Both Gill and Rohit Sharma were off the blocks in brisk fashion but just when the wickets started tumbling from the other end and Bangladesh applied pressure with spin, the right-hander was happy to play the rotating game.
Early on in the innings, both Gill and Rohit figured that “cutting the ball wasn’t easy” so the youngster quickly changed his approach and didn’t hesitate while using his feet against the quicks. Even after Rohit, who gave India a breezy start, was dismissed, Gill continued to control the innings in the middle overs where they faced a lot of spin.

“When me and Rohit bhai went out there, we thought cutting the ball wasn’t easy because the balls which were outside the off-stump weren’t coming onto the bat that nicely. So I thought of using my feet to even the fast bowlers and tried to go over the circle. When the spinners came on, me and Virat bhai were talking in the middle that it’s not easy to score singles off the front foot, so we’ll try to score singles off the back foot. And it’s not easy to hit down the ground, so we just keep rotating the strike,” said Gill after receiving the Player of the Match award.
He was batting on 26 off 23 balls at the end of the tenth over but it took him another 46 deliveries to score the 24 runs for the half-century – his slowest in the format. Even when he dropped anchor, not once did Gill look out of control. There was a lot of clarity in the way he operated and the fall of wickets didn’t have any effect on that.
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Kohli and Shreyas Iyer got starts but couldn’t convert and Axar Patel‘s early adventure meant India were delicately placed at 144/4. They weren’t left with a mountain to climb, and there was enough batting to follow, but the message from the dressing room was clear – one set batter had to bat deep and it was Gill. The vice-captain took that responsibility and ensured the team crossed the finishing line without any more casualties.
When Gill was making his way back to the change room and hugging his teammates on the way, the smile never left his face which had satisfaction written all over it. The knock wasn’t a typical Gill dominating hundred but there was no compromise on the authority and control he always enjoys while getting to the magical number.

Shubman Gill (ANI Photo)

The jabs and cuts through the off-side could have been missing, there were no big hits down the ground but still there were plenty strokes of brilliance on both sides of the wicket That crunching drive over covers, the 98m pull and the effortless flick which sailed into the stands ensured the shutterbugs remained busy on a very pleasant evening.
“Definitely one of my most satisfying innings that I have played… “
The firsts are special but Gill will remember this hundred for a very very long time. Not because it opened his account in ICC tournaments but for the sheer class which was on display under the ring of fire.