Former Indian wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik has backed Shubman Gill to learn to be a finisher like Virat Kohli as he has the skills and ability to do so. Gill was dismissed after scoring an impressive knock of 110 runs off 108 balls in the opening ODI against the West Indies.
The pair added 151 runs for the second wicket but Gill failed to close out the match as he was dismissed soon after completing his 10th ODI century.
Virat Kohli, on the other hand, scored an unbeaten knock of 139 off just 88 balls to help India get over the line in the run-chase of 296, with 50 balls to spare.
“Honestly, when I got out, I thought I should have finished the game. Would have been nice to be there in the end. But yes, very satisfying innings for me,” Gill mentioned during the post-match presentation.
“I do think he has done it a few times now, he is capable of it. He knows what it takes to do it. Right from his U-19 days, I have watched him quite closely in big matches. It is a habit, he does have it in him. He couldn’t do it the other night, but I am pretty sure he will be able to do it quite consistently, and who better to learn from?” Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
On the other hand, former Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane highlighted that Gill was not satisfied after he was dismissed in the run-chase.
“I think it is very good if you are thinking that you have to finish the game, you get to learn a lot. You can see from his statement that he is not satisfied with this at all. When you start finishing games as a batter or even as a captain, your confidence grows. He is used to finishing games off from childhood, we have seen it at the U-19 level and in the IPL. He stays till the end and tries to take the team over the line,” Ajinkya Rahane said.
Meanwhile, West Indies have posted a huge score of 405 runs on the board after India decided to bowl first in the second ODI at Guwahati.
