Focus on making most out of chances I get: Shubman Gill
After the second ODI between India and New Zealand was called off due to rain, Indian batter Shubman Gill said that he is aiming to make the most out of the chances he gets to play for his country. The second ODI of the three-match series between India and New Zealand was called off due to rain, with the Men in Blue being able to score 89/1 in 12.5 overs at the time rain intervened for the final time and put any possibility of further action to rest.
Shubman Gill (45* off 42 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (34* off 25 balls) were at the crease unbeaten. “I am not looking that far (playing in the 2023 World Cup). Right now, my focus is to make the most out of the chances I get to play for the country and score big. This is what I am looking to do in this series as well,” said Gill in a post-match press conference.
This year, Gill has indeed lived up to these words. In 11 ODIs he has played so far, Gill has scored 625 runs at an average of 78.12. He has scored one century and four half-centuries, with the best score of 130. Gill admitted that constant in-and-out of the field movement due to rain caused frustration and difficulties in planning.
The batter said that he enjoyed batting with Suryakumar Yadav, who is currently in red-hot form. “There is no need to have any talk with him out in the middle as he was batting so good,” he added.
On adapting a more aggressive batting approach in ODIs in which totals of 400 or more are frequent, Gill said that scoring 400 or more in ODIs frequently is not achievable. “400-450 are made in 2-3 matches per year. When you score 300-350, it makes a good match. This all is dependent on conditions, whether you bat first or not,” he added.
Put to bat first by the Kiwis, India was at 22/0 in 4.5 overs when rain interrupted the action for the first time. The match was resumed after rain as a 29-overs-per side affair. After the match resumed, India lost skipper Shikhar Dhawan to Matt Henry early for just three runs.
Following Shikhar’s dismissal, Gill and Suryakumar added 66 runs for the second wicket. But rain played the spoilsport again and fans did not get to see any further action from these two exciting sides. The third ODI will take place in Christchurch on Wednesday.
In the first ODI, New Zealand defeated India by seven wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series. India managed to score 306/7 in their 50 overs, with fifties coming from Shreyas Iyer (80), Dhawan (72) and Gill (50). Pacers Tim Southee and Lockie Fergsuon took three wickets. In chase of 307, India had NZ struggling at 88/3 in 19.5 overs. But a 221-run stand for the fourth wicket between Tom Latham (145*) and skipper Kane Williamson (94*) helped the Kiwis win the match.
Umran Malik (2/66) was the pick of Indian bowlers on his debut. In the T20I series before this, India won it 1-0. The first T20I was washed away by rain completely. India won the second T20I by 65 runs, with Suryakumar (111*) and Deepak Hooda (4/10) being the stars.
The third T20I was also affected by rain and was called off during India’s chase of 161, during which Men in Blue were at 75/4 in nine overs. (ANI)
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