Shubman Gill was the best thing to have happened for KKR in their six-wicket win against Chennai Super Kings at the Eden Gardens on Thursday, as the U-19 World Cup winning batsman grabbed the opportunity at No 4 with a maiden half-century.
KKR, who had primarily used Gill at No 7 for most of the matches, was promoted in absence of an injured Nitish Rana as he along with skipper Dinesh Karthik sealed the chase effortlessly in an unbeaten 83-run stand.
Karthik was visibly pleased with the youngster’s performance at the post-match presentation.
“Credit to the franchisee, they picked a lot of Under-19 players. They are really skilled players and it’s a delight to watch them play,” Karthik said. “That boy [Shubman Gill] is special. It’s been a bit harsh on him [batting lower down the order] but he showed in those matches that he could hit a boundary off the first ball, that’s a great skill to have. I don’t want to hype it up and put extra pressure on him but I can see a lot of years of India Blues in him.”
Karthik also explained the conditions made him go with spinners for the last three overs of CSK’s innings. “I picked it up early, that spinners would get assistance on this wicket. Our bowlers are so confident. They wanted to bowl. You need to be pushing boundaries. He [Narine] is a thorough all-rounder. He provides impetus at the top and also bowls the pressure overs. He’s a great player to have in the team.”
KKR spinner Piyush Chawla echoed the captain’s thoughts about Gill at the post-match news conference.
“He is a special talent and he proved it (last night). In these kind of tournaments, a comprehensive win is always good for the morale of the team,”
Chawla said it’s the team combination that had brought him down at no 7 with Rana doing well in the middle order
“It’s a team game so team comes first. But Nitish got injured and we needed somebody... Gill played the role beautifully.”
KKR next play at Mumbai Indians on May 6. Chawla said they are not taking Mumbai Indians lightly even as the defending champions sit at the bottom of the table.
“If you see Mumbai Indians they have proved it in the IPL. They may be at the bottom right now but they can be even more dangerous. We have to play good cricket to come on top.”
Chawla further said they are lucky to have two wrist spinners in him and Kuldeep Yadav as they play a big role in T20 format.
(With PTI inputs)
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