Gill notched up a magnificent ton in that game.
The tussle between Shubman Gill and Shaheen Afridi in a high-octane India-Pakistan clash last night added another chapter to this boiling rivalry. It all started with the 2018 U19 World Cup, when the two met in the semifinal clash in Christchurch.
In a viral video, Gill narrated words exchanged with Pakistani pacers, Shaheen and Muhammad Musa, who tried to threaten him with sharp bouncers to the body. One of the bowlers bowled a short delivery, and Gill couldn’t play the shot since the pace was high, leading to the bowler chirping, “These are not Bangladeshi bowlers”.
Obviously, the batter wasn’t going to let it go easy and came with a fitting reply, first with the bat and then with his words to shut Afridi and Musa. The bowler attempted another bouncer, and Gill pulled it ferociously for a boundary and ended up saying, “We are not Pakistani batters either” to the two garrulous speedsters.
As it turned out, Gill notched up a magnificent ton in the all-important semifinal clash, accumulating 102 in just 94 deliveries, comprising seven boundaries, at a strike rate of 108.51. He remained unbeaten throughout the innings, and later India bundled Pakistan for a mere 69, with Gill winning the Player of the Match award.
It all started on the first delivery of the second innings when Abhishek Sharma hit a ferocious maximum off Shaheen Afridi’s bowling, to which the bowler had something to say. Abhishek didn’t pay much heed and only uttered a few words, but it was enough to boil the tension.
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Later, in the next over, Shubman Gill hit one wide of the extra cover region on the final delivery and pointed towards the ball while looking at the bowler. He probably meant to go and pick the ball, which had shades of the famous Aamer Sohail-Venkatesh Prasad incident in the 1996 World Cup.
Later, Haris Rauf was also involved in an altercation with Abhishek Sharma, and the umpire had to intervene to calm the matter. Eventually, India won the game, with both openers showing their class against a flawed Pakistani pace attack.
No matter what the Pakistan bowlers say, the gap between the skill levels of both teams is wide, and India have mostly dominated them with their game and talk. Last night was no different, and Shaheen continues to come second when up against Gill.
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