Shubman Gill smashed 116 runs in the 3rd ODI© AFP
India’s star opener Shubman Gill reminisced about his growing-up days watching Virat bat and heaped praises on the former India captain for converting his starts into impactful innings. The 23-year-old said that Virat’s knocks are a masterclass on how to construct an inning. He said this while speaking after the completion of the first inning against Sri Lanka at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram.
“It is amazing to see what he does. I watched him growing up and it is incredible to see what he does. Once you get a start how to convert it into a hundred and how to convert those hundreds into 150-160 is a lesson we learn,” stated Gill.
Reflecting on his brilliant knock in the third ODI the batter mentioned that his game plan was to get his eyes in early and get a hang of the wicket. He also stated that batting with stalwarts like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is easy.
“Always feels good to convert a start into a big one. We were not looking at any target and were just trying to see how the pitch plays. The odd ball was keeping low and there was not much spin. When you are batting with Rohit or Virat, you don’t have to do much. We were talking about targeting the bowlers and looking to score after the first three overs,” expressed the right-hander.
Coming to the match, Virat Kohli lit up the dead rubber with an epic 166 not out, his third century in four innings, as India annihilated a clueless Sri Lanka with a record 317-run win in the third ODI to sweep the series in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
Skipper Rohit Sharma (42 off 49) and Shubman Gill (116 off 97) shared a fluent 95-run opening partnership before Kohli (166 not out off 110) propelled India to a daunting 390 for five with his 74th international hundred and 46th in the 50-over format.
Sri Lanka succumbed to the high quality fast bowling of Mohammad Siraj who struck four times inside the 10 overs to shut the door on the opposition. Sri Lanka were all out for a meagre 73 in 22 overs, highlighting the gulf between the two teams.
(With PTI Inputs)
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