Shubman Gill’s maiden century in the shortest format couldn’t have come at a better time. The very next day after his call-up to India’s T20I squad for the upcoming New Zealand tour, Gill smashed a magnificent 55- ball 126 for Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy quarter-final clash versus Karnataka at Eden Gardens.
Gill’s knock on Tuesday, comprising 11 fours and nine maximums, was instrumental in taking Punjab to the semi-finals, as they beat Karnataka by nine runs. The India call-up has fuelled his motivation, Gill said.
“I came to know about my selection in the T20I squad after the BCCI had tweeted about it. But yeah, of course, when you are in the Indian team, be it for any format, that’s always a great motivation.
“Having been selected for the Indian T20I team obviously made me feel great and it did turn out to be a huge bit of motivation behind today (Tuesday)’s innings,” Gill told reporters at the Eden.
Gill does feel at home when batting at the Eden, where he has played several matches in the IPL during his stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders. He doesn’t rule out a comeback to KKR in future.
“I never had any such plan of leaving KKR. Whatever the circumstances were, KKR didn’t retain me.
“But then, I went to Gujarat Titans, did well there and we won the IPL. Now in future, we can’t predict what will happen and what possibilities may arise,” he said.
Talking about his county experience for Glamorgan, where he had also hit a century in September, Gill said: “It seriously was a great experience there in county cricket.
“The cricketing culture is a bit different there. Going out of the Indian (cricketing) culture and experiencing that of the English cricketers was quite good for me.”
Bengal falter in quarters
Calcutta: The scenario looked ominous for Himachal Pradesh as they needed 17 off the final over after Shahbaz Ahmed (59) and Ritwik Roy Chowdhury (32 not out) powered Bengal to 199 for 6 in Tuesday’s Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy quarter-final clash at the 22 Yards School of Cricket ground in Salt Lake.
The visitors did have a well-set Akash Vasisht (76 not out) at the crease with skipper Rishi Dhawan (9 not out), but Bengal were confident of a win.
Unfortunately, Mukesh, who bowled the final over, kept erring in length and conceded three boundaries to Vasisht and Dhawan as Himachal won by four wickets and advanced into the semi-finals of the tournament.
Brief scores: Bengal 199/6 in 20 overs (S. Ahmed 59, R. Roy Chowdhury 32 n.o.; K. Abhinay 4/47). Himachal Pradesh 200/6 in 20 ovs (A. Vasisht 76 n.o., N. Gangta 50; R. Kumar 2/29). Himachal Pradesh won by 4 wickets.
