On Wednesday, February 1, Team India defeated New Zealand to win yet another bilateral series thanks to a Shubman Gill masterclass at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. The youthful opener was at his merciless best, blasting 126* runs off only 63 deliveries, after having trouble scoring runs in the first two games of the T20I series. Shubman’s batting was unstoppable for the Kiwi bowlers, as his daring style allowed the Men in Blue to score 234 runs after 20 overs.
Gill hailed Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya for helping him stay composed and leading him well during a crucial part of his knock in a post-game conversation. Gill noted that looking back on his performance, the cricketer had a nearly perfect game.
“To be able to play how I play, I have to be mentally clear. This is what you (Hardik Pandya) told me. Every time I hit a six, he came and told me – hold your shape in the next ball, you don’t have to do anything extra, just do what you are doing and don’t try to go too hard. Every ball he kept reminding me and that helped.”
“In the last over of Santner, I was in the zone and I was hitting. So, I thought I will go after him but you asked me to hold myself back and target other bowlers because he (Santner) is bowling well in the entire T20 series. So, tactically and technically it was a near-perfect game for me,” said Shubman Gill in an interaction with Pandya for BCCI.tv.
