IPL 2018: Shubman Gill grabs his opportunity against CSK to make a case for promotion in KKR batting order

A maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) fifty to take his team home against the table toppers. Shubman Gill, still a teenager, certainly knows how to make an opportunity count. His unbeaten 36-ball 57 on Thursday night in front of a packed Eden Gardens played an instrumental role in Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) thumping victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK). On a platform like IPL, this was the first occasion when the youngster was promoted to the top four and he immediately stamped his authority.

Interestingly, if Nitish Rana was fit, Gill wouldn’t have got this chance to bat at No 4.

Following a splendid run with the India Under-19 side in this year’s Youth World Cup in New Zealand (second highest scorer of the tournament with 372 runs from five innings at an average of 124), the Punjab lad was picked by KKR for Rs 1.8 crore. However, at the start of this eleventh edition of the IPL, he sat out of the first two games with Rinku Singh being picked ahead of Gill, much to the surprise of many.

When Gill finally got the opportunity, he had to bat at No 7 for four games and only faced eight, five, nine and two balls respectively in those outings. Last week, against Delhi (28 April) he was sent in at No 6 when KKR were tottering at 46 for 3, chasing 220. He showed a glimpse of his talent with a 29-ball 37. On that occasion, the right-hander looked quite comfortable against pace and dominant against spin. Perhaps that particular knock convinced the KKR team management that he is being wasted in the lower-middle order.

On Thursday, an injury to Rana opened the doors for Gill’s promotion to No 4 and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Well, that’s what all good players do — utilise each and every chance to impress.

Against CSK, when Gill came out to bat in the fifth over, KKR were in a self-destruct mode. Chasing 178 to win, by that time the ‘Purple Brigade’ had already lost two of their dependable batsmen — Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa. Sunil Narine, as usual, was trying his best to get out. Steadying the ship was the need of the hour and young Gill took up the responsibility.

Earlier in the game, he had put down a sitter to give MS Dhoni a life. But with bat, the 18-year-old has not only compensated for that missed opportunity but also provided a healthy headache to the team think tank regarding his batting position in future encounters, especially when Rana will be available for selection.

Gill’s knock on Thursday night had a perfect blend of swag and composure. He started his innings in a brisk fashion, hitting three fours in Shane Watson’s second over.

The first one came off a short-arm jab through the on-side on a ball which kept a little low. The youngster used his wrist beautifully to get the placement right. Next one, short outside off-stump, he opened the bat’s face and guided the ball past Dhoni to the fence. This was game awareness at its best. Gill knew the third-man was a bit wide and took advantage. The third one was a ‘hit me’ ball, wide outside off and the batsman just had to place it between point and backward point. And he did exactly that.

Those three strokes provided early momentum to Gill and from there he never looked back.

Those who have seen Gill bat on bouncier pitches in New Zealand during the Under-19 World Cup, know that the youngster is a nice timer of a cricket ball. But Thursday’s knock showed his competence in placing that ball through the gap. Through his sweeps, cuts, late-cuts and drives, the youngster just made a mockery of Dhoni’s field placing, both against spin and pace.

But there was no unnecessary risk taken. And when the opposition skipper brought the field in to put the batsman under pressure, Gill showed the guts to play the lofted shots. Even while playing horizontal bat shots against 140khp deliveries, the youngster showed tremendous control.

This was an exhibition of pure class.

For me, the highlight of his knock was his ability to pick up lengths early. As a batsman, Gill always has a lot of time to play his shot, thanks to this skill of judging the lengths quickly. That’s why he has been successful on fast and bouncy tracks.

Undoubtedly, Gill is an India material and skipper Dinesh Karthik has rightly identified that.

“The boy is special, I don’t want to hype him up so much, but you can see that he has a lot of years of India Blues in him. His ability to hit first-ball boundaries regularly is incredible,” the KKR captain said at the post-match presentation.

Let’s hope this knock is the new beginning for this bright young kid and we won’t see him being wasted at No 7 again.