In a dramatic dead rubber match at the Asia Cup Super Four in Colombo, Shubman Gill showcased his exceptional batting prowess, exhibiting remarkable calm and composure as he notched up a well-deserved century for Team India. Despite his heroic efforts, India fell short by a narrow margin of six runs against Bangladesh.
The 24-year-old’s monumental achievement didn’t end with his century, as he became the first player to amass 1000 runs in ODIs in 2023. Additionally, he solidified his reputation as the batter with the most international hundreds in 2023, boasting an impressive tally of five.
Reflecting on the challenging pitch conditions, Shubman Gill acknowledged, “On slow wickets, there are a lot of dot balls. Our chat as a batting group is to reduce dot balls and rotate strike. The track was slow and was taking turns, so taking singles was not easy, especially for new batters. The talk was about playing it late and close to the body,” as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
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India had previously struggled with spin in their match against Sri Lanka, facing difficulties on slow pitches.
Shubman Gill commented on the recurring theme, saying, “We had a camp in Bangalore before coming here and practiced on similar surfaces. The World Cup is such a long tournament, and as we go deep into the tournament, the wickets will get slower. It is not easy for batsmen coming in to rotate strike and minimize dot balls. That’s what as a batting unit and bowling group we are looking to overcome.”
A fine innings calls for a finer celebration 👏💪⚡️
Keep at it, @ShubmanGill.#TeamIndia #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/3e7F4tPnA6
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 15, 2023
As the match reached its climax, Shubman Gill, after reaching his century, attempted to accelerate the run rate. However, with the asking rate climbing to over nine runs per over in the final seven overs, the Punjab batter played a fateful shot, slog-sweeping Mahedi Hasan over cow corner before succumbing to a catch at long-off on the next delivery.
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Reflecting on this crucial moment, Shubman Gill admitted, “There’s so much adrenaline when you are batting, sometimes you miscalculate. That was a miscalculation on my side. When you got out, you saw there was a lot of time left. If I had batted a bit normally or not that aggressively, we should have been able to get over the line.”
