Kolkata: After a match-winning performance for Kolkata Knight Riders against Chennai Super Kings, Shubman Gill, who scored an unbeaten-57 on 36 balls, spoke to skipper Dinesh Karthik and said that he felt pressure to win the game for his side after he dropped Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s catch. The crucial moment occurred in the 18th over of CSK’s innings.
Dhoni, who was batting on 29, played a slog pull shot off Kuldeep Yadav.
The ball went straight to Gill’s hands who failed to grab the catch as it went for a six. Addressing the moment of the match, the 18-year old said, “I dropped MS Dhoni’s catch, so I was feeling the pressure that I have to win the match for the team, and if we lose, then I will have to face the brunt of the defeat.”
Gill further added that he felt embarrassed that how could he drop such a sitter. “Nobody gave me an angry look but I was feeling really embarrassed that how can I drop such an easy catch.
I was hoping that MS Dhoni gets out in the next ball but then he hit a terrific sweep shot which was coming towards me, and I was like I have to save the boundary at any cost now,” he said.
On being questioned about his performance with the bat, the Under-19 World Cup Man-of-the-Tournament said that he enjoyed batting at the no. 4 position.
“I think batting at No. 4 was a different experience for me. I got confidence after I scored runs against Delhi Daredevils and I also remained unbeaten in the previous match. So I was confident of my abilities with the bat,” the youngster said.
The right-hand batsman made most of Nitish Rana’s absence who was not included in the playing XI against CSK due to a back injury.
On being questioned by Karthik that at which position would he like to bat when Rana returns, Gill said he is ready to perform at any position. “I am ready to play at any position. Cricket, nowadays, is all about adaptability and how you adapt to the situations in the middle. Whichever position I come down to bat, I will try to give my best,” he said.
KKR picked up a 6-wicket win over CSK to climb to the third position in the IPL table on Thursday.
