“Rohit Sharma was shocked, and I assured him it was my shot,” says Shubman Gill of his daring last-over six against Nathan Lyon.

Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were tasked with seeing out the final ten overs of Day 2 of the fourth Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a grueling first two days on the field. On the final over of the day, the captain was surprised to see Gill take on the opposition by hitting a six, despite the team’s upbeat approach.

Gill said that despite Rohit Sharma amazement at the other end, he believed in himself and was convinced that he could hit the ball for a boundary. Interestingly, the 23-year-old is an exceptional spin bowler, and because the pitch in Ahmedabad is rather flat, Gill did not hesitate to attempt the huge shot.

“He (Rohit Sharma) was taken aback. But, I informed him that the shot is mine. If an off-spinner is bowling on a decent wicket, such as the one we are playing on, and it was up to me to set the field, I would take a defensive stance. I believed it was my shot, and I was confident I would hit a boundary,” Gill told the media at the end of Day 3’s play.

Gill and Virat Kohli restore India’s position in the fourth Test.

Even though Nathan Lyon dismissed him in the third session on Day 3, Shubman Gill scored 128 runs from 235 deliveries. Once Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara were dismissed, there was a great deal of strain on the Indian hitters; however, the partnership between Gill and Virat Kohli alleviated a great deal of the burden by putting India back on course.

Significantly, former India skipper Kohli (59* off 128 deliveries) finally reached fifty in the longest format of the game as India trailed by 191 runs after the third day. Now, the partnership between Jadeja (16* off 54 deliveries) and Kohli will be crucial as the Rohit Sharma-led side looks to take a substantial lead and apply pressure to the Australians in the second innings of the contest.