Shubman Gill happy to be making the most of his chances

In T20s, though, Gill likes to open the innings. It suits his game better; Gill is not belligerent from the first ball. But in a powerful Kolkata Knight Riders top order, characterised by a successful opening partnership between Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine, Gill had to bide his time.

Before Sunday, 28 April, he had a 65, but the rest of his season had largely been underwhelming. That was until Kolkata decided to end Narine's stint at the top last week, and promoted Gill to open the innings. On Sunday, in just his second innings as an opener for Kolkata, Gill slammed 76 off 45 balls for his best T20 score, as Kolkata piled on 232 in a run glut against Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens.

“I can’t say I should have got chances earlier because Lynn was doing quite well. He’s been doing it for so long that we can’t change it,” Gill said after the match, which Kolkata won by 34 runs, despite the opposition making 198.

“And Narine was giving us pretty good starts ... So I can’t say I should have got chances earlier, but I’m happy that I got a chance and I capitalised on it.”

Gill went on to call his knock on Sunday the best of his season, given Kolkata needed a win to stay alive in the competition, after suffering six straight defeats. They were also up against an opponent whom they hadn’t beaten in their last eight meetings.

Despite still being so young, Gill has already impressed with his composure and ability to soak up pressure. He put that down to the efficient domestic structure in place in India. “The way we prepare and the way our domestic cricket is, the level it is at, credit goes to that,” he said.

“So many matches happen in domestic cricket, it’s relentless, and the player who does well everywhere gains confidence. When you then come to such a big league, you don’t have to prove to anyone because you have already proven what needs to be proven."

Gill’s was one of four big performances on the night as a total of 436 runs were struck in 40 overs. Crucially, however, three of those performances came from the Kolkata camp. Hardik Pandya was the only Mumbai batsman to show resolve, as he smashed a breathtaking 91 off 34 balls. But with little to no support from the other end, it showed in the final margin.

“We would have liked a couple of less wickets when Kieron [Pollard] and Hardik walked in,” Quinton de Kock said. “We tried to get off to a good start so we didn’t have to play too much catch-up in the end, because with this sort of total, when you leave it too late, you’re out of the game anyway."

De Kock also praised Andre Russell, the West Indies all-rounder, for once again being a game-changer. After his 40-ball 80 on Sunday, Russell has now taken his tally to 486 runs – the second-highest in the season – at 69.42.

“It’s a great innings he played,” de Kock said. “Can only appreciate what he’s done, not just this game but all IPL. Congratulations to him. Hopefully, he doesn’t do it again against us."

Image credit: AFP