Rohit Sharma praises Shubman Gill’s knock, defends changes in playing XI in IND vs BAN Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash
Saurabh Anand
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma praised Shubman Gill on his performance against Bangladesh.
It was another nail-biter finish at R Premadasa Cricket Stadium in Colombo as Bangladesh prevailed by just 6 runs against India in the last game of the super 4 round. India made a bulk of changes in their playing XI as they rested the likes of Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav. The experiment didn’t work just before Asia Cup 2023 finals in Colombo against Sri Lanka. Indian batting-order succumbed to Bangladeshi bowlers and failed to chase down 266 runs. Shubman Gill remained the only big-scorer in the innings as he went on to score his fifth ODI ton. Gill played 121 innings against Bangladesh.
Batting first, Bangladesh posted 265 runs with the help of their captain Shakib al Hasan’s magnificent knock of 80 runs, and his 101-runs partnership with Towhid Hridoy (54) also contributed immensely to Bangladesh’s total. India had a poor start as captain Rohit Sharma was out on a second-ball duck. This opened up the gate for Bangladesh, as they kept picking up wickets at regular intervals. Only Shubman Gill looked focused in his innings, as he went on to score 121 runs in 133 balls with 8 fours and 5 sixes. India needed 12 runs in the last 6 balls, and Tanzim Hasan (2/32) bowled beautifully to not let Shami hit any big shots in the first three balls.
Rohit Sharma defends ‘bulk of changes’
Indian captain Rohit Sharma was asked about the reason behind making such big changes in the playing XI just before Asia Cup 2023 finals on Sunday. Rohit Sharma responded, “Straightforward logic, as we wanted to give some game time to the guys who were on the bench. Keeping the bigger picture in mind. Not compromising on how we wanted to play this game and getting in some players who are likely to play the World Cup.” Shubman Gill was the lone warrior fighting to take the Indian team over the target, but he failed. Rohit was impressed with Gill’s knock and said, “Gill’s hundred was brilliant. He backs his game; he knows exactly how he wants to play. He’s pretty clear on what he wants to do for the team.”
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Shakib impressed with his bowlers
Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan was awarded player of the match for his wonderful knock of 80 runs to take Bangladesh out of crisis and give them a platform for scoring a challenging total. He also picked up a wicket with the ball. Shakib was satisfied with his batting performance and said, “I was not batting well during this Asia Cup, but today I had time to settle down. When I hit my first boundary, it felt good. When the ball got older, spin was very difficult to play.” Bangladesh bowled and kept the pressure on against Indian batters. Shakib further added, “It was not an easy time to bowl when he (Mahedi) came in to bowl and got us the breakthrough.” He also bowled five overs at the end, which is not easy for spinners. Also, Tanzim bowled well at the start and took two wickets. We should give credit to Shakib also.
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