There were concerns within team over chasing well, reveals Gill

On-a-roll Team India convert worry into strong point by winning all their four World Cup 2023 games while batting second

Team India outclassed Bangladesh by seven wickets with 51 balls to spare and registered their fourth successive win in World Cup at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Gahunje on Thursday. 

Star batsman Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 103 off 97 balls (6x4, 4x6) played a key role in chasing Bangladesh’s score of 256-8 convincingly.

Also Read: ICC World Cup 2023: Virat hits his 48th ODI hundred, first ODI World Cup century

India opener Shubman Gill, who scored his maiden World Cup half-century (53) admitted that the team's think tank was concerned about the team's chasing ability ahead of the World Cup. However, Rohit Sharma & Co have now won all their four games in the tournament while chasing.

“You can see how confident they [Kohli] and [Rohit Sharma] are, the way they are scoring runs. Definitely, I think this is one of the things which was talked about, especially leading up to the World Cup, that we were not chasing that well, those big totals, but I think having won all the four matches while chasing, it’s a great way to have that momentum with us in those big games that we’ll have moving forward,” Gill said during the post-match press conference on Thursday.

About his knock, Gill said: “Obviously, felt nice. When I was a little sick, I was feeling a bit disappointed on missing out on those opportunities, but definitely felt nice to get some game time.”

When asked about the team's improved fielding standards (he took two catches to dismiss top-scorer Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy) and the efforts of Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul, Gill reckoned both were spectacular. “We all spend a lot of time on our fielding because I think as a batsman and a bowler. As a batsman I don't know how many balls I will face in the match but I know for sure that I will be there for 50 overs and I will field for 50 overs. Same for bowlers, they know that they are going to bowl maybe eight, nine, 10 overs but they have to field for 50 overs and as a cricketer I think it's a very important skill. We keep upping our fielding skills whenever we get the chance and I think both the catches were fantastic in terms of where the game was at that point of time. I can't single out because both [Jadeja and Rahul] were spectacular,” Gill added.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!