Young Indian opener Shubman Gill was delighted to see Indian middle order batters Virat Kohli and KL Rahul dominating the proceeding against the Pakistan bowlers in the Super 4 game against Pakistan in Colombo. Kohli and Rahul’s centuries helped the Indian side to post their joint-highest total against Men in Green in ODI cricket on Monday.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul dominated Pakistan bowlers and scored 233 runs between them for the 3rd wicket. The batters mainly relied on quick runs and a few boundaries here and there before taking on the bowlers in the final 10 overs of the game in Colombo. Both the batters looked dominant against the Men in Green throughout the game helping India post a massive total of 356/2 against Pakistan.
Speaking to the broadcasters during the mid-innings, Shubman Gill said that it was a special inning by KL Rahul, who is coming back into the team after an injury, and praised Virat Kohli for completing 13,000 international cricket runs in the ODI cricket, and once again proving his mettle in the 50-over format of the game.
“Definitely very special for us. He [KL Rahul] is playing his first match after injury, definitely special for him. Virat [Kohli] bhaiya also completed his century and completed 13000 runs, definitely special,” Shubman Gill said.
The Indian youngster put on a 121-run opening-wicket stand with Rohit Sharma, as both openers showed great intent before being dismissed in quick succession as the rain halted the day play during the 24th over of India’s batting innings on Sunday laying a perfect platform for the Indian team to dominate the proceedings on the reserve day of the high-octane game.
I Also Tried To Show Some Intent That If You Bowl Me Bad Balls – Shubman Gill On Taking On Shaheen Afridi
Shubman Gill discussed the team’s strategy for dealing with Pakistan’s pacers during the power play. They wanted to get rid of the bad deliveries and go after Shaheen Afridi, their main bowler, who was trying to get wickets during the power play.
“The ball was doing it in the initial period and they were bowling well also. But I think we had to show that if you are going to bowl us bad balls we are going to put it away. I think he [Shaheen Afridi] was attacking at the wickets. I also tried to show some intent that if you bowl me bad balls, I am going to put it away,” Shubman Gill added.
India’s opening pair has been successful at the top of the order, giving the team strong starts at the beginning of innings and they displayed solid batting in the powerplay as the Pakistan primary pacer Shaheen Afridi found no clue to the aggressive approach of the Indian openers.