Shubman Gill, the swashbuckling Indian opener, is looking forward to playing the third ODI at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, where he has had some brilliant memories. The young batting prodigy has had a good run with the bat in the limited opportunities that have come his way.
After a disappointing loss in the first ODI, the second game of the series was abandoned due to inclement weather conditions. Both teams will want full action when they meet for the third and final game of the series.
Throwing light on matches getting washed off due to rain, Shubman Gill reckoned that it was irritating to be in and out of the field.
“It’s slightly frustrating,” Gill said. “When the overs were getting reduced, it got quite irritating to be constantly going in and out of the field, unsure how many overs would we get to play. It made our planning difficult.”
However, the result has seen that India continues to remain at the top of the Super League points table, and New Zealand have jumped to the third spot as well. With the contest not having much impact on the world cup qualification, the abandoned games aren’t playing a big part as well.
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill explained that these rain-impacted games frustrate him – both as a player and as a viewer and he also backed the idea of having rooftops in cricket stadiums as well.
“As a player and as fans, it’s very irritating to go in and out” – Shubman Gill
“It is one decision that has to be taken by the boards,” he said, “As a player and as fans, it’s very irritating to go in and out, and having so many games getting affected by rain. I don’t know how I can make a difference or take a stand for it, it’s a big decision. Playing indoors would be a bit difficult, but having closed roofs would be good.”
However, for Shubman Gill, it was a missed opportunity as he is trying to seal his place in India’s playing XI. Playing as a backup opener in the absence of Rohit Sharma, he has already scored 4 half-centuries and a ton in 14 innings, having an average of 61.27 in the 50-over format. Even on Sunday, he was batting at a 42-ball 45 when rain ended play as well.
However, he said that he isn’t looking too far ahead now, and only trying to make the most of the opportunity by playing long innings as well.
“I’m not looking so far ahead, I’m trying to make the most of the opportunity I get, score big and make some big contributions for the team. Even in the last game, the way I was playing, the intention was to play a long innings. Even in the team meetings, the talk was about batting long, about the set batter ensuring that he finishes the innings. It also makes it easier for the other batters to come in and score,” Shubman Gill concluded.
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