Ind vs NZ 1st ODI | Intent was to put bowlers under pressure: Gill

Shubman Gill struck a masterful 208 off 149 balls with 19 fours and nine maximums to lift India to an imposing 349 against New Zealand in the 1st ODI

India’s Shubman Gill celebrates his double century during the first ODI cricket match between India and New Zealand, at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, in Hyderabad, on January 18, 2023 | Photo Credit: PTI

“It [the double century] means a lot to me,“ said a visibly pleased Shubman Gill, the India opener who cracked a brilliant, match-winning 208 against New Zealand in the first ODI here on Wednesday night.

“This is what dreams are made of. It’s amazing,” Gill said about joining Kishan in the 200-club. “He’s one of my best mates in the team and it’s amazing to be able to spend time with him. I was there when he scored his double hundred and it felt amazing,” he said at the post-match briefing here..”

“I think in the first ODI against Sri Lanka and in the third ODI, I was set and looking to get a big score, but unfortunately that didn’t happen for me,” Gill said.

“Once I was set, the main focus for me was to obviously be there for the team and score as many runs as possible. And, it feels good when it pays off,” the star performer said.

“Not a conscious effort to keep batting aggressively. I would say, but with an extra fielder inside the circle, we see other teams pushing in the middle overs,” Gill said.

“And, even today, when wickets were falling, my main focus was to show some intent to the bowler because it becomes very easy for the bowler to bowl dot balls if the batsman is not going to show any intent that he’s going to hit any boundaries - even if we have lost a wicket,” he explained.

“The idea was to avoid dot balls, show some intent and hit hard into the gaps. That is what I focused on doing,” he said.

“So that was my intent - even when wickets were falling to show the bowler that I will hit you if you’re going to bowl bad balls,” said Gill who has become the fastest Indian to reach the 1000-run mark in ODIs.

Making Yuvraj and father proud

“Making my dad (my primary coach) and Yuvraj paji, who has been a big mentor for me and worked a lot on my batting, feel proud is a special feeling,” he said.

“The idea was to avoid dot balls, show some intent and hit hard into the gaps. That is what I focused on doing,” he said.

“I was not really thinking of a double century, but once I hit sixes in the 47th over, I did feel that I could get there. Before that, I was playing the ball on merit. He (Kishan) is one of my best mates. I was there when he scored his ODI double-hundred and it was special,” Gill said.

“It feels nice when you want to do something special and everything you try comes off. It (double ton) has sunk in pretty well. However, the game turned out to be much closer than we anticipated,” said Gill.