Shubman Gill Recalls the Gabba Test Against Australia: “The Idea Was To Hit Mitchell Starc’s Every Bouncer…”

It was Shubman Gill who disclosed how the plan to play the pull shots against Mitchell Starc, in particular, worked wonders “bearing in mind the shorter square boundaries”.

Shubman Gill of India may be a relative newcomer to the international stage, but he has already played some valuable knocks that he will treasure for the rest of his life. In the fourth Test at Brisbane’s Gabba in January 2021, the hosts defeated Australia by 91 runs in the second innings. Following unproductive first innings, Gill had an entirely different demeanor in the second innings of the same match. It was a delight to see him play against both pacers and spinners as he racked up an impressive half-century. It was in a GQ India interview where Gill reminisced about that Test and recalled particular techniques he used against the best fast bowlers in the world.

According to Gill, “bearing in mind the shorter square boundaries,” the strategy of playing pull shots against Starc in particular “worked brilliantly”.

“You’ll notice if you rewatch that inning that I didn’t once pull Cummins out of the game. Because of the shorter square limit from the Starc side, the pull shots were taken. Because he was bowling at a good tempo, I was certain that even if I got a top edge, the ball would pass the fielders and score me runs “he stated.

On that particular day, instead of taking on Cummins, he decided to go for Starc, and that strategy paid out.

“When Cummins was bowling, I told myself to only try the pull shot against Starc and not to try the short balls from Cummins because of the larger boundary. My strategy for the day was to hit every bouncer that Starc sent my way, and it paid off “Then he said something.

Cheteshwar Pujara’s brave 56-run knock and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant’s 89-run unbroken batting performance helped India win the legendary Gabba Test by three wickets.