[Watch] Shubman Gill bowls for the first time in his ODI career during IND vs NED 2023 World Cup clash in Bengaluru
Team India opener Shubman Gill rolled over his arms and bowled a couple of overs of off-spin during the 2023 World Cup match against Netherlands on Sunday (November 12). The hosts registered a clinical 160-run victory over the Dutch side at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Shubman Gill set up the tone for his side in the first innings with a blazing half-century. However, he could not convert it into a big one, as he perished soon after reaching the milestone.
Shreyas Iyer (128*), KL Rahul (102), Rohit Sharma (61), and Virat Kohli (51) also performed magnificently to power India to a massive total of 410/4 in 50 overs. In a steep chase, Netherlands then bundled out for 250 in 47.5 overs and ended their campaign on a disappointing note.
It was eventful for the viewers during the second innings of the match as Indian captain Rohit Sharma threw the ball to a couple of part-timers like Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill, and also himself at the end.
Gill came into the attack in the 29th over, bowled two overs on the trot, and conceded 11 runs with his gentle off-spinners.
You can watch Gill's bowling in the video below:
"It is always good to have a few other options"- Rohit Sharma on giving the ball to Shubman Gill and others against the Netherlands
At the post-match presentation, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma shed light on his thought process behind throwing the ball to front-line batters like Shubman Gill, revealing that they wanted to test their bowling depth. Rohit said:
"It is always something in our minds. When we have five options, it is always good to have a few other options. Today we had nine (bowling) options, it's important, this was the game where we could have tried certain things.
"The seamers bowling those wide yorkers when it was not needed, but we wanted to do that. As a bowling unit, we wanted to try doing something different and see what we can achieve.
In total, nine different bowlers were used by Sharma against the Kiwis. India will now face New Zealand on Wednesday (November 15) in the first semi-final of the 2023 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium. The Kiwis qualified for the last four by winning five of their nine group-stage games.