"It was quite weird for me"- Shubman Gill admits he was under pressure and nervous while batting during India's second Test against England
Indian batter Shubman Gill accepted that he was under a bit of pressure coming into the second Test of the ongoing series against England in Visakhapatnam. Gill had endured a rough patch of form at No.3 and questions around his place in the team were rising by the minute.
While Gill was dismissed for just 34 in the first innings, he ensured that he stood out with a classy hundred in the second essay. It was certainly a timely century, not just for Gill himself but also given the context of the match, helping India get their noses in front.
Speaking on Sports18 after India's win in Visakhapatnam, here's what Shubman Gill had to say about how he felt after getting to his hundred:
"I'll sum it up in one line. My heartbeat playing the first ball and the last ball was the same throughout the innings. That's how nervous I was feeling even after scoring my hundred (laughs). That was what I was talking to Rahul [Dravid] sir in the morning when England were batting. It was quite weird for me. I have never experienced like this."
Gill accepted that he was getting frustrated by not being able to convert his starts and added:
"Obviously, not being able to score runs the previous few matches. It wasn't the outside noise but the expectations that I have for myself... I was disappointed how I got out in the first innings here [in Visakhapatnam] and in the first innings in Hyderabad. So all of that expectations, I was disappointed, maybe that's the reason."
Shubman Gill's hundred, alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal's double ton and Jasprit Bumrah's nine wickets in the game, were the major reasons why India managed to beat England by 106 runs and level the series.
Shubman Gill on why he wanted to bat at No.3
There has been a lot of debate around whether No.3 is the right position for Shubman Gill in Test cricket and whether it would be better if he bats lower down the order. However, Gill claimed that he had experience of scoring big runs in domestic cricket in that position.
On this, he stated:
"People kept asking me why I went from opening to No. 3. I told them that I have batted at No. 3 in first-class and scored three double-hundreds at No. 3 and No. 4. So it wasn't something that I have never done in my life. But batting at No. 3 is obviously different in internationals. And I was thankful that I got the experiences and the opportunities and the mistakes that I made... they all led up to this innings [the century]."
The hundred in a winning cause has probably helped Shubman Gill keep his spot in the team for the remainder of the series. The third Test between the two teams will begin at Rajkot on February 15.