‘Australians celebrated Rohit Sharma’s wicket casually. As if their work was done’: Shubman Gill opens up on Gabba epic

With India losing Rohit Sharma cheaply on the fourth day, the Australians, as Gill explained, felt it was only a matter of time they would wrap up the Indian innings. He shared insights on the moment that spurred him to play the innings of his young career so far.

Shubman Gill was all of 21 years of age and only into his third Test when he played an innings he will live to one day tell his grandkids. Gill’s 91 on the final day of the memorable Gabba Test helped set the platform for India to successfully chase down 328 at a venue no Australian team had been defeated since 1988.

Shubman Gill with Rohit Sharma as the Australians look on.  (Getty)

With the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy levelled at 1-1, Gill had already got his Test career off to a promising start in the previous two matches. In Melbourne, Gill scored 45 and 35 not out as India completed a stunning win bouncing back from the low of Adelaide. In Sydney, he cracked his maiden half-century in Tests and hit another confident 31 in the second innings.

However, his best would be reserved on the final day of the Gabba Test. With India losing Rohit Sharma cheaply on the fourth day, the Australians, as Gill explained, felt it was only a matter of time they would wrap up the Indian innings. Gill shared insights on the moment that spurred him to play the innings of his young career so far.

"It was as if they [Australians] knew the pro­cession had started. They celebrated casually. Ho gaya kaam–types [As if their work is done]," Gill said about the host team's celebrations upon dismissing Rohit Sharma, to veteran sports journalist Jamie Alter in an interview for GQ Magazine.

The move backfired on the Australians. Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara added a dogged 114-run stand for the second wicket. Although Gill missed out on a maiden century, the 22-year-old played a riveting knock of 91 during which he took on Australia's most threatening pacer Mitchell Starc. With the ball doing a bit, Starc tried to pepper Gill with short-pitch stuff but the youngster did not budge and took the attack to the left-arm quick. Any other youngster in his early 20s would have preferred playing them out, but Gill had something else in mind.

"As a youngster making your debut in Australia, the biggest doubt in your mind is whether you will be able to hand the pace. Pat Cummins and Starc are known for their pace and Josh Hazlewood for his line and length. But when I was able to ­conquer that doubt and I felt ­comfortable handling that pace, then it was all about my mindset," added Gill.

"He and Cummins were bowling short at us and my idea was to attack Starc. If you go back and watch that innings again, you will notice that not once did I pull Cummins. The pull shots were off Starc, keeping in mind the shorter square boundary from that side. I felt that even if I got a top edge, it would clear the fielders and get me boundaries because he was bowling at good pace. The end from which Cummins was bowling had a much bigger boundary, so I told myself to only attempt the pull shot against Starc and leave the short balls from Cummins alone. The idea was to hit every bouncer that Starc sent down, and it paid off for me that day."