Shubman Gill reveals dressing room message after his century towards Bangladesh in ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Learn what the India vice-captain stated about his match-winning knock!
New Delhi: How vital should an event be for a participant to name their slowest ODI century the “most satisfying one”? India vice-captain Shubman Gill achieved this milestone, scoring a 125-ball century towards Bangladesh in a Champions Trophy Group A match in Dubai. His assertion holds weight for a number of causes—first, it was his maiden century in an ICC occasion; second, he remained unbeaten to information India to victory; and third, the chase was removed from straightforward. Whereas the scoreboard displays a six-wicket win with 21 balls to spare, the truth was totally different. Bangladesh had India struggling at 144/4 in pursuit of 229 on a troublesome pitch the place shot-making was difficult.
“Undoubtedly one of the crucial satisfying innings that I’ve performed and my first century in ICC occasions. Very satisfying and really pleased with the best way I carried out,” Gill, the Participant of the Match, stated within the post-match presentation.
The opener was unbeaten on 101 off 129 balls with 9 fours and two maximums to his title. It was Gill’s eighth ODI century. He turned the quickest Indian to achieve the mark, surpassing Shikhar Dhawan, Virat and Sachin Tendulkar. But it surely was one among his least fluent innings. The explanation? The disciplined Bangladesh bowling and the sluggish nature of the Dubai pitch. The circumstances have been so tough that Gill performed three dot balls even after reaching his century.
Gill’s innings was harking back to the 90s and early 2000s, showcasing a mix of aggression and resilience. He started with an attacking method, capitalizing on the fielding restrictions, however as the sphere unfold and circumstances toughened, he switched to a extra affected person sport. He stitched a stable 69-run stand in 9.5 overs with Rohit Sharma earlier than the Indian skipper fell to pacer Taskin Ahmed whereas trying a giant shot, leaving India at 69 for 1.
“When me and Rohit bhai went on the market, we thought slicing the ball wasn’t straightforward as a result of the balls which have been exterior the off-stump weren’t coming onto the bat that properly. So I considered utilizing my toes to even the quick bowlers and tried to go over the circle,” he stated.
The partnership was superb from a sport viewpoint, because the pitch slowed down within the center overs, making batting a bit more durable.
Virat Kohli appeared a bit over-watchful and circumspect earlier than opening his account after going through 10 balls.
Although he grew comfy, an uppish reduce of leg-spinner Rishad Hossain ended his keep for 22.
“When the spinners got here on, me and Virat bhai have been speaking within the center that it’s not straightforward to attain singles off the entrance foot, so we’ll attempt to rating singles off the again foot. And it’s not straightforward to hit down the bottom, so we simply preserve rotating the strike,” Gill added.
The fast wickets of Axar Patel, who was as soon as once more promoted to No. 5, and Shreyas Iyer had India at a barely worrying 144 for 4.
Rahul and Gill steer India to win
However KL Rahul, who was dropped on 9 by Jaker Ali off Taskin, ensured that there have been no additional hiccups and performed a resolute unbeaten innings of 41 off 47 balls.
Gill and Rahul added 87 runs for the unbroken fifth-wicket alliance to hold their facet residence.
When the going was powerful, Gill stated that there was a message from the dressing room to remain there until the tip and ensure India reached the goal with no additional hiccups. “At one level, there was a little bit of stress on us. The message was despatched from exterior that I’ve to attempt to bat until the tip and that’s what I attempted to do.”
