"Nathan Lyon tried to intimidate me" - Shubman Gill
Indian young gun Shubman Gill has revealed that Nathan Lyon tried to 'intimidate' him during India's tour Down Under.
The 21-year-old batsman remarked that he didn't want to get involved in the Australian sledging and instead, decided to reply by scoring runs.
Shubman Gill looked to the manor born in Australia as he stacked 259 runs from six innings at an average of 51.8.
Gill made his debut in Melbourne and gave India some crucial opening starts thereafter.
However, the right-hander's most important innings came in Brisbane, where his counterattacking 91 (146) laid the foundation for a great victory.
"Nathan Lyon tried to intimidate me, but I kept my cool, remained calm. I wanted my bat to do the talking. The team never got intimidated by the sledging," Gill said in an interview with Hindustan Times.
Shubman Gill also talked about pacer Mohammed Siraj's unflagging courage throughout the series.
"Siraj paaji is a great guy. He performed so well, didn’t get affected by any such incident while bowling. He gave his best on the field despite his father’s demise and the spectators making remarks at him," said Gill.
Siraj, who made his Test debut alongside Gill, went on to take 13 wickets in the series at an average of 29.54. This also included an outstanding five-wicket haul at the Gabba.
I got a bit nervous in the 90s: Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill also talked through his jittery moments at the Gabba when he edged a wide ball by Nathan Lyon to slip and missed out on a well-deserved hundred.
"I was playing well and striking the ball nicely. When I entered the 90s, I got a bit nervous and played a bad shot. I was disappointed to get out like that. Scoring a century for my team would have been the icing on the cake for me, after the win," said Gill.
On the backs of brilliant individual performances by young stars like Gill and Siraj along with some unprecedented team efforts, India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 2-1 scoreline.