Cricket
IND v NZ, World Cup Semi-Final: Shubman Gill rues missing out on century due to cramps in Mumbai
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India batter Shubman Gill believes that he would have scored a century in the World Cup 2023 semi-final against New Zealand, had he not cramped in the 23rd over.
India vs New Zealand: Highlights | Scorecard |
Gill, while batting at 79 off 66 balls cramped due to the humid conditions in Mumbai and had to retire hurt. Gill was helped off the pitch by the Indian physio and was not able to climb the stairs to the dressing room himself. The batter however returned to play one ball at the end of the Indian innings and remained unbeaten at 80 off 66 balls.
Speaking at the post-match press conference after India beat the Kiwis by 70 runs, Gill said that the cramps were the after-effects of dengue as he had lost a bit of muscle mass.
“If I didn’t get cramp, maybe I would have scored 100. But I think, the total we were trying to reach, irrespective of whether I scored 100 or not, we reached there and had a hope of scoring around 400. We had expectations, that till the 25th – 30th over we should have scored these many runs and we did that, so it didn’t matter that I made a century or not,” Gill said at the post-match press conference.
“It started with cramps and then I pulled my hamstring a little bit and I think these are just theâæ it was quite humid and just the after effects of Dengue,” Gill said about his cramps.
Batting With Rohit
Gill and captain Rohit Sharma got India off to a flying start in the semi-final clash against New Zealand. Rohit blasted a 29-ball 47-run innings and played the majority of the deliveries in the first powerplay. Asked about his experience of batting with the Indian captain, Gill said that it was a learning experience. Gill joked that he could just sit back and relax as Sharma faced the majority of the balls in the powerplay in every match.
“Everything – everything about him really impresses me, I stand as a learner in the powerplay. He plays 10 overs; I play 15-20 balls. I rest and Rohit comes and does his thing. He scores 4, he sores 6 – and I just watch,” Gill said in the press conference.
Nervy Moments
The game turned out to be a tense one for India despite scoring almost 400 runs. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell put together a tremendous 181-run partnership to provide New Zealand a slim chance of chasing down a record target of 398 runs. Asked about the nervy moments in the match, Gill said that India knew that it was going to be challenging to bowl outside of the powerplay, but wickets in crucial moments helped India win the match.
“Honestly, I think we knew it was going to be challenging, especially under the lights and once the new ball gets a bit old, it is a bit difficult for bowlers here to contain runs. So, we knew it’s going to be challenging, but what was important for us was to just keep bowling the areas where we wanted to bowl and wait for them to make a mistake. And that’s what we did. And I think at one point, Daryl and Kane, the partnership that they had, it was looking a bit challenging with such big scores, but, you know, a couple of wickets here and there, you’re always in the game,” Gill concluded on the matter.
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