Team India secured a brilliant victory against Australia after a woeful start with the bat that saw three of their best batters going down in the blink of an eye. Chasing 200, India crumbled down to 2/3 with Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer falling victim to Starc and Josh Hazlewood’s menacing movement. However, India missed their key opener, Shubman Gill.
However, braving the early cross currents, two of India’s most proficient batters, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli seized the day for the Men in Blue with a couple of extraordinary displays. VK had an early lifeline after he was dropped by Marnus Labuschagne but the former Indian captain showcased his exemplary class and control for his match-defining 85. KL Rahul stayed unbeaten for a staggering 97 from 115 balls that allowed India to script a historic win.
However, all of this happened with Shubman Gill out of the mix due to the recovery that he is undergoing from dengue. Just ahead of the tournament, he was diagnosed with dengue and after careful observation he was asked to rest. But then with all said and done, he still remains to be one of the finest contenders for becoming the leading run-scorer in the World Cup. Here are three reasons why:
#1 Familiarity with Indian pitches
Shubman Gill is very familiar with the Indian conditions and he is someone who gets along the groove pretty well. May it be those skitters that hits the deck hard and suddenly starts garnering pace after landing, or may it be those mercurial turners, he is someone who gets into shape without a fuss and the fact that he can get into position so early, the stroke play that he offers comes with an additional split second and any batter who gets that fraction of a second more is bound to make ripples on flat tracks.
#2 Ability to negate any movement
Shubman Gill is blessed with the ability to rescind any movement by coming down the track. However, it is his extraordinary hand-eye coordination that changes the game for him. Unless he is trying to go big and hammer the bowlers relentlessly through the aerial route, you would very rarely see him getting beaten by pace. Also, the stance of coming down the track by a couple of paces, allows him to rattle the bowler’s train of thoughts and on Indian surfaces, if you err by an inch, that would hurt you for three lifetimes maybe.
#3 A big match player
Whenever the occasion comes knocking on the door, Shubman Gill is someone who is absolutely unwavering in his belief. From those swashbuckling drives to those rollicking hoicks, Gill takes his game up by notches whenever the occasion is momentous. Hence, with the World Cup eluding India for an eternity now, this is probably where this mindset of his kicks in, which automatically propels him to the top of the run-scoring list.
