'It felt like going into a war when I was walking towards the pitch': Shubman Gill on Test debut against Australia

Shubman Gill, who scored a fluent 45 in the first innings at MCG, said it was normal when he was fielding. It was only he walked out to bat that he felt the jitters in his stomach, it felt like he was 'going into a war'.

Playing Australia in Australia can be a daunting task even for the experienced cricketers but for a debutant it’s an experience that he can never forgets. India opener Shubman Gill too had the same feeling while making his Test debut against Australia in Melbourne. Gill, in fact, felt like he was 'going to a war' while walking down to the middle of the pitch from the dressing room.

India's Shubman Gill bats against Australia (AP)

Gill, who made his debut in the second Test of the four-match series, impressed one and all with his ability to play strokes off the backfoot on bouncy Australian tracks.

Gill who scored a fluent 45 in the first innings at MCG, said it was normal when he was fielding. It was only he walked out to bat that he felt the jitters in his stomach.

"As long as the fielding lasted, I was pretty normal. But when we finally batted, and I was taking a walk down from the dressing room to the pitch with the crowd cheering (backing the Aussies, nevertheless), it was an experience of a kind! It felt like going into a war!" he told his IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders' official website.

Shubman Gill could not score a century but his tally of 259 runs in three matches played a crucial role in India’s 2-1 victory over Australia.

Before the game started, he was swept by emotions as head coach Ravi Shastri presented him with his Test cap.

"It's inexplicable. At times you go through a sea of emotions which just make you go numb. It was that kind of a moment. Ravi Shastri gave a speech in the huddle and then I received the cap from him. After that we won the toss and elected to field first," he recalled.

Asked what it meant to debut in Australia, Gill said it was like a childhood dream coming true and felt surreal.

"When I was a kid, I used to get up at 4.30-5am to watch Test matches in Australia. Now people are getting up early to watch me play, that's quite a feeling. I still remember my father used to wake up early and so would I just to watch the Australia series," he remembered.

"It was a different kind of fun to watch Brett Lee bowl or Sachin sir (Tendulkar) bat. All of a sudden, I was playing in that team and Australians were bowling at me.

"It felt surreal that the world was watching me. I was really looking forward to the challenge and always wanted to play in Australia to experience how it feels," he said.

And what are the lessons he brought back home? "...no matter what, you can't rule someone out of a scenario. We had so many injuries but the dressing room positivity never changed.

"We got all out for 36 and despite that not for once our players or our coach or our captain and even the support staff felt bogged down or intimidated to such an extent that we didn't know what to do next," he said.

"As I had said before, if they want to play chin music, we have got all the dance moves ready!"