On Sunday, Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma set the stage alight with a blazing 105-run partnership. The opening stand provided a sucker punch to Pakistan, who succumbed to back-to-back losses in the ongoing Asia Cup.Chasing 172, India flew out of the blocks as Abhishek Sharma (74 off 39) launched the first ball for six, with childhood mate Shubman Gill (47 off 28) joining him in a blistering 105-run opening stand that floored Pakistan. The duo countered both the bowling and the chatter, before Gill, struggling with cramps, lost his stumps to Faheem Ashraf’s nip-backer right after a drinks break.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Captain Suryakumar Yadav had all praise for the opening duo. He called Abhishek Sharma “selfless,” while speaking at length about the importance of Shubman Gill in his side.“I think he (Abhishek) is very selfless when it comes to his batting style,” Suryakumar Yadav told reporters.“As he passes the powerplay, he can still bat the same way he bats in the powerplay. But the way he analyses the situation post-powerplay, what is required of him, what bowlers are going to bowl, I think that’s a plus point for him.
Poll
Who do you think had a bigger impact on India’s victory against Pakistan?
“He is learning every game, and it’s very important for someone like him to understand what his role is, how he can bat a little deeper. He takes one game at a time. Most importantly, what I have seen from him is that he never misses any practice session. He is always there to do something at least. Even if he doesn’t want to bat, he is there on the ground. He always wants to be active, and if you keep working hard, God always has plans for you,” he added.
Shaheen Shah Afridi of Pakistan speaks to Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill. (Getty Images)
On Gill, the Indian captain said: “And with Shubman, everyone knows what kind of player he is and what he brings to the table, what he brings to the team.“The only thing I want to say about him is he knows how to score runs. And the way he scored today is actually a sign of a very good batter.“He would have done the same thing as Abhishek was doing. But he backed his shots, played less-risk, high-reward strokes. And that reverse sweep, he has been practising a lot. I was really happy to see him play that in the game.”The Indian captain also acknowledged that both Shubman and Abhishek are inseparable and their bond outside the field is helping the duo.“I think it’s really important to be very, very good friends off the field. If you are batting together, opening together, that really helps to get your bond a little stronger. Sometimes you don’t have to say anything on the field. You look in the eye and take that cheeky single or compliment each other if someone is going really strong or if someone is having a hard day. I think that friendship comes into the picture when they both bat together,” he said.“The way both of them bat, I said the same thing in the post-match as well — it’s like a fire-and-ice combination. They complement each other really well and that’s what I want to see. If someone is batting brilliantly, the other one can take a little backseat, just rotate the strike, and keep the flow going. Both of them batted beautifully. It was required today to have a very good start, and they gave it,” he added.
