India batsman Shubhman Gill talked exclusively to Star Sports on Follow the Blues about his batting strategy in the most recent match against Bangladesh. “On a slow wicket, you get a lot of dot balls, so when we were batting, we were thinking of how to cut down on the number of dot balls,” he explained. And it gets simpler the more we spin the strike.
Taking singles was difficult on this wicket, especially for a batsman who has just entered the game because of the slow pitch and the ball’s high rate of spin. Therefore, the suggestion was to simply let the ball come to us. On a slow wicket, we typically score more runs square of the wicket than in front of it. As a result, we were hitting the ball square to the wicket.
“When I was batting, there’s so much adrenaline at first, you know, when I got out, it was a miscalculation on my side, but then you realise there was actually a lot of time left, and if I batted normally and not aggressively, we should have been able to cross the finish line, but these are the learnings, and fortunately, this wasn’t the final game for us,” added Shubhman Gill. As a batsman, I believe these are the lessons I want to apply and get better at.
Shubhman Gill went on to discuss the game’s lessons learned and the significance of maintaining momentum going into the World Cup. He explained, “We gave our bowlers some rest since we played nonstop for three days against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and the bowlers needed a little respite so they could come in fresh for the finals. There hasn’t, in my opinion, been a loss of our forward momentum. I believe that when bowling against their bottom order, we conceded additional runs—roughly 10-15 runs more than ideal. Apart from that, I thought our cricket game was good.
We can apply all of these lessons in games for the World Cup and the Asia Cup finals because, as I previously stated in situations like these, I was set and felt like I should have finished the game. It’s crucial to develop the winning mindset, become in shape, and prepare your mind at the appropriate moment. We are aware that each team has nine matches, and we’ll work to maintain our current form going into the World Cup because it will be difficult if we drop one or two. If we succeed here, we will be quite confident going into the World Cup.
Shubhman Gill also discussed the types of pitches they were using.
“I think the wickets we are playing on are absolutely perfect,” he said. I believe that these are the kinds of wickets that we would often play on in India, so it’s a terrific test for both the batsman and the bowlers. Additionally, the pressure of competing in these conditions against strong opposition will undoubtedly benefit us in the World Cup.
Shubhman Gill also discussed Sri Lanka’s performance as they prepare to play them in the Asia Cup finals. Yes, he acknowledged, “I think they have great momentum with them. It was great to see how they won the last match. I think we will have to pull up our socks and bet at 100% to beat them.”
Former Australia cricketer Matthew Hayden speaks exclusively to Star Sports on Follow the Blues on the match between Bangladesh and India. Yes, I believe the bowling performance was hampered by the absence of important players, he replied. However, I also believe that it was a standard dead rubber match in a tournament for which you have already qualified. It is simply difficult to reproduce that intensity when it is not present, and I felt that India’s play with the ball lacked that intensity. There needs to be that extra motivation there, and when it is not present, that extra stimulus, even the crowd today, that sense of occasion, is just not there.
Hayden continued, “Shubhman Gill batting today in conditions when India were in a pickle in the first powerplay, similar to Bangladesh as well, was commendable. Additionally, just five games—on 43 occasions—have had 265 or more runs pursued down. You are aware that represents slightly more than 10% of the time where you have a chance to win these games. Having Shubhman Gill as a pillar at the crease was crucial.
Hayden added, “Look, India’s bowling in particular, and we have seen that in the last 20 overs of the game with only four wickets left, you know, they just appeared to bleed runs. As Team India prepares to compete in the World Cup, Jasprit Bumrah’s comeback with the ball will be crucial. Shubhman Gill talent, timing, and form make him a clear choice with the bat, and his partnership with the Hitman at the top of the order with a healthy strike rate, in my opinion, is crucial. Therefore, the World Cup needs both of these players with the bat and the ball.
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