Gill batted well against the quality pace and spin attack of Black Caps and smashed a tremendous half-century. He scored 52 off 93 balls and formed an important partnership with stand-in vice-captain Cheteshwar Pujara on Day 1 of the game.
However, Gill was cleaned up by New Zealand pacer Tim Southee in the 30th over of India’s first innings. Southee bowled a good length ball and drew the batter forward, and the gap between bat and pad was visible. The red leather took an inside edge and shattered the stumps.
Gill was impressive during his fifty, but former Indian opener Aakash Chopra pointed out the technical flaws in his batting. Chopra felt Gill doesn’t possess the required technique and skills to open the innings.
“Whenever I see him play, he doesn’t look like a Test opener to me. The way he plays inside the line, the outside edge and inside edge are both exposed,” said Chopra while speaking on Star Sports.
Chopra suggested that Gill should look for some other options that suit his abilities, like batting a bit lower down the order to maximise his potential. The cricketer-turned-commentator reckoned that Gill plays spin better, therefore he should come down the order.
“But when he plays spin, he is tall and uses his feet well, uses the reach very well, his footwork is impeccable, and his defence is also solid. The bat is always in front of the pad,” Chopra added.
Chopra observed that in his opinion, Gill is a middle-order batter who has made to open in the red-ball format.
“In my opinion, he is a middle-order batter, he has been made to open. He has done well as an opener, but his true color and form will be seen when he bats in the middle order,” Chopra added further.
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