There are two ODI greats in India’s top three. There is batting down to No. 8. And almost all the batters have got runs in this Champions Trophy. This India batting order, said team vice-captain Shubman Gill, is better than any he’s previously played in.
“This is the best batting line-up that I have been a part of. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli I think are the all-time one-day greats in the world. Rohit bhai, one of the best openers in white-ball cricket and Virat bhai, I don’t think I need to say anything about him. He is one of the best ODI batters ever. I’m batting in between the two, and then below we have Shreyas [Iyer] who is in such good form, then KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja.”
Although India are playing in Dubai, which has been a lower-scoring venue compared to others in the tournament, each of India’s top seven has a top score of more than 40 in the tournament. Jadeja, who typically comes in at No. 8, has only been required to bat twice in four games. That kind of depth and form has had an effect on how the top order plays as well, Gill said.
“The depth in our batting helps free up the batters at the top. We can play freely because we know we have the depth. This is one thing we used to struggle with earlier. We didn’t have the batting depth, so the pressure on the top order was more to score more and stay longer. But I think the depth allows us to play more freely.”
Gill, whose tournament top score so far has been 101 not out in India’s opener against Bangladesh, said that for him, however, batting more freely did not necessarily mean taking more risks – it’s more about being smart about when to hit out.
“I honestly don’t really think about whether I need to take more risks or less risks,” Gill said. “I think it’s more about me being in my zone and taking calculated risks. I take more risks at the right point, when I feel the bowler is under pressure.
“Most of my batting is instinctive. I don’t pre-plan, and I don’t play any shots that are pre-planned. When you are playing on the wicket, you kind of have an idea what kind of total you’re looking to make on that wicket. And then you add 15 to 20 runs to give that extra cushion to the bowlers. And that’s what I think of when I’m batting.”
Gill then elaborated on what he meant by batting “in his zone”. For him, a lot of it comes down to preparing with match intensity.
“Whenever I’m batting in the nets, I feel for me it’s about me trying to play as close to as how I would play in the match. And that is the zone for me. Sometimes we bat in the nets and we aren’t really thinking about the situation. We just want to bat well.
“But more often than not, in an important match, there might be a chance that you’re not hitting the ball well. How would I want to score runs then? If it’s hard for me to hit boundaries, then how would I take those singles and put the pressure off of me in a powerplay? So, these are the things that I try to do in the nets.
“I think it’s easy to hit boundaries. It’s easy to hit sixes. But doing these small things are, I think, more difficult. And that’s why it requires a lot of repetitions for me. And I think that’s what helps me in the match to stay in my zone.”
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf
