India opener Shubman Gill downplayed the controversy surrounding left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed’s delivery that went down leg as Virat Kohli approached a century on Thursday. Shubman Gill gave the benefit of the doubt to the bowler, stating that he wasn’t sure if it was intentional.
India continued their flawless start to the 2023 World Cup with a convincing seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in match number 17. In an exciting moment, with Virat Kohli nearing a century, a delivery from Nasum strayed down the leg side on the first ball of the 42nd over. While it seemed like a clear wide delivery to many, umpire Richard Kettleborough did not make that call and surprised everyone.
Kohli went on to achieve his century and seal India’s triumph in the same over by blasting the Bangladesh bowling over the ropes for a maximum. Shubman Gill was asked about Nasum’s delivery down leg, which became a point of contention, at a post-match news conference.
“I don’t know if he intentionally tried to bowl wide or he was just trying to keep it tight and then went away.”
Shubman Gill
While Kohli hit a wonderful century, Shubman Gill also hit his first ODI World Cup half-century, batting 53 off 55 balls. Due to sickness, the team’s opener missed the first two games.
When asked about his injury and how he felt about participating in the World Cup, he said:
“Obviously felt nice. When I was a little sick, I was feeling a bit disappointed on missing out on those opportunities, but definitely felt nice to get some game time.”
Shubman Gill
The 24-year-old also stated that the squad is happy to be doing well at the World Cup. The Men in Blue appeared at comfortable while batting second, and Shubman Gill admitted that it was an area they focused on prior to the World Cup.
“I mean, you can see how confident they are, the way they are scoring runs. Definitely, I think this is one of the things which was talked about, especially leading up to the World Cup, that we were not chasing that well, those big totals. But I think, having won all the four matches while chasing, I think it’s a great way to have that momentum with us in those big games that we’ll have moving forward,” the opener said.
Shubman Gill
India has won all four of their World Cup 2023 matches despite chasing goals.
Shubman Gill’s Learning Strategy: Always Try to Learn from Seniors
While Shubman Gill has been in excellent form with the bat in recent months, he is still relatively fresh to the international arena. The youngster stated that he is doing all possible to learn from elders like as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
“To see them how they go about their business in World Cup and in big games is what I always try to learn from them. I think there’s a fine line between sometimes being too aggressive or going in the shell, especially playing big games. But I think the way they play, the way their mindset is playing those big games in the World Cup is what I try to learn from them,” Gill said.
Gill and Rohit put up 88 runs for the first wicket against Bangladesh, while Kohli finished unbeaten on 103 from 97 balls.