Gill emerged as India’s highest run-getter of the series as he produced scores of 64, 43, and 98 against the West Indies. He also has 82 unbeaten games following a victory over Zimbabwe, recently.
The 22-year-old player was also involved in a match-winning unbeaten partnership of 192 runs with Shikhar Dhawan when India hit the target inside 31 overs.
Dhawan praised Gill’s effort during the game. The veteran batter also admitted that he enjoyed playing with youngsters like Gill.
"We started batting in West Indies and it has been tremendous,” Dhawan said. “The consistency we have shown has been amazing. My rhythm with him has set up quite nicely. He is a tremendous batter.
“The way he bats, the way he times the ball, it's lovely to watch from the other end and hats off to him. He came in the side as a youngster and the consistency he has shown by converting those fifties into big scores is nice to see.”
Gaining experience
Following his outstanding performance against Zimbabwe, Gill said that he was only focusing on gaining experience and learning more to improve his game in the future. He also said that he was amazed at Dhawan on the field.
Apart from Dhawan, his coach Rahul Dravis is also someone who has helped him a lot.
“It was all about getting experience in the middle and that was the talk with Rahul sir to spend as much time as possible,” Gill said.
“The surfaces in the West Indies were slightly difficult and I wanted to spend time and gain experience. He (Dhawan) is such a chill guy to bat with and we don’t talk much about cricket when batting in the middle.
In white-ball cricket, you have to play fewer dot balls and that does not mean to hit every ball, you have to keep rotating strike.”
Dravis is known for his casual approach to players. India’s national team vice-captain Hardi Pandya said that the coach has given “flexibility” in building a good team.
Pandya pointed out the moment when India captain Rohit Sharma wants to change the team’s play from what they have been doing with former captain Virat Kohli.
“Ro gives you a lot of flexibility and freedom which is his strength throughout his captaincy stint whenever I have played with him,” Hardik Pandya said after India took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series with a seven-wicket win in St Kitts.
“Here as well, a lot of credit goes to him and Rahul Dravid the way they have got the team together and making sure a lot of positive mindset comes in and players are feeling secure; they are not looking over their shoulder; making sure they are getting ample chances; they are getting told as well if they are not playing, and that is something which is commendable.”
