India vice-captain Shubman Gill on Thursday opened up on his stunning fifty against England in the first ODI match of the series and lauded Shreyas Iyer for his brilliant knock.
Gill and Iyer's smashing fifties helped India record a four-wicket win over England in the first ODI match of the series at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday.
"...Idea was to not to go too much on the back foot, play good cricketing shots. When a player (Iyer) comes like that, the opposition also goes on the back foot. Good decision on his part, also helped me," he said.
" (Favourote shot) The pull I hit through midwicket when I was batting on 70. I thought it was a bit double-paced. Spinners varied their pace well, when they bowled slow, it was turning. Had it in mind to look to square of the wicket and not try to hit down the ground...," Gill said.
Gill overcame cramps to make 87 and take India close to the finish line on a two-paced, turning wicket at Nagpur's Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium after Axar Patel scored 52 in a 108-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Iyer blasted two consecutive sixes off Archer in the seventh over en route to an entertaining fifty and after he departed for 59, Gill played a controlled knock with exquisite shots on both sides but holed out to Mahmood while looking to accelerate.
“I was not targeting a hundred, and I was trying to dominate the bowlers. I would have played the same shot if 40-50 runs were needed to win the match. It feels good when you win matches for the country,” he said.
“He (Shreyas) was playing his shots, and that allowed me to play sheet anchor role. It is better to take a back seat when the other batter is in that type of mood. When he departed, I decided to take the matter into my hands,” he added.
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