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

India’s Shubman Gill might be fairly new in the international arena but he has already played certain valuable knocks which he would definitely cherish throughout his lifetime. One such performance was the 91-run show in the second innings of the fourth Test at Gabba in Brisbane against Australia in January 2021. After failing to perform in the first innings, Gill looked a completely different batter altogether in the same match when he came out to bat the second time. His crisp strokes against the pacers as well as the spinners was a treat to watch as he made a remarkable half-century. In an interview to GQ India, Gill reminisced about that Test and recalled specific strategies against premier pacers like Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc that paid dividends.

Gill revealed how the plan to play the pull shots against Starc in particular worked wonders “keeping in mind the shorter square boundary”.

“If you go back and watch that innings again, you will notice that not once did I pull Cummins. The pull shots were off Starc, keeping in mind the shorter square boundary from that side. I felt that even if I got a top edge, it would clear the fielders and get me boundaries because he was bowling at a good pace,” he said.

He explained how cautiously he batted against Cummins and rather took the attack to Starc which ultimately “paid off” for him that day.

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“The end from which Cummins was bowling had a much bigger boundary, so I told myself to only attempt the pull shot against Starc and leave the short balls from Cummins alone. The idea was to hit every bouncer that Starc sent down, and it paid off for me that day,” he added.

India went on to clinch the famous Gabba Test by three wickets thanks to a gutsy knock of 56 runs by Cheteshwar Pujara and an 89-run unbeaten batting performance from wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant.