Shubman Gill comes clean on middle-overs failure vs New Zealand: ‘Becomes very difficult even if we added 20 more runs’
Shubman explained how the nature of the wicket made partnerships vital and why NZ’s strong middle-overs batting ultimately turned the game in their favour.
India captain Shubman Gill spoke about the loss in the second ODI at Rajkot, where New Zealand produced a clinical chase to draw the series level at 1-1. Despite removing the openers early, India’s bowlers were unable to sustain pressure as Daryl Mitchell and Will Young took control of the innings. Their 162-run partnership for the third wicket shifted the momentum decisively in New Zealand’s favour, leaving the hosts with little room to claw back into the contest as the chase slipped away.
Shubman also admitted that India’s inability to take wickets during the middle overs proved costly and allowed New Zealand to stay in control of the chase.
"We couldn't pick up any wickets in the middle overs. With five fielders in, if you don't keep taking wickets in the middle overs, it becomes very difficult even if we would have added 15-20 more runs. And if you don't pick up wickets in the middle overs, it's very difficult to stop a target," Shubman said in the post-match presentation.
Meanwhile, despite a solid 70-run opening stand, India faltered under pressure and slipped to 118/4. Barring Shubman Gill’s fifty, the rest of the top-order batters failed to build on their starts. It was KL Rahul once again who turned out to be the crisis man for India with a brilliant century to help India post a fighting 284/7.
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Revisiting his assessment of the match, Shubman explained how the nature of the wicket made partnerships vital and why New Zealand’s strong middle-overs batting ultimately turned the game in their favour.
"On these kind of wickets, as soon as you have a partnership, the set batsman has to make it big because it's not easy for the batsman coming in to score freely. In the end, we did get a decent target on the board and we bowled exceptionally well in the first 10 overs. And the kind of start that we got in the bowling, we were trying to squeeze them down, put them under pressure, but I think they batted really well in the middle overs," Shubman added.
“Let down a couple of chances”
The Indian skipper further highlighted India’s lapses in the field, admitting that missed chances proved costly and underlined the importance of sharper catching in the ODI format.
"Even in the last match, we let down a couple of chances. It's one thing that, we are always, especially with this team, we are always trying to get better at fielding. It's one aspect that we're always trying to get better at. And yes, if you don't take your chances, in this format, it always makes you lose," he concluded.
