India vs England: Shubman Gill says he was nervous during knock of 104 in second innings of 2nd Test

India top-order batter Shubman Gill has admitted that he was nervous while batting in the second innings of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam. There had been immense pressure for Gill to step up, so much so that Gill had been reportedly served an ultimatum by the Indian team management in order to regain form. And Gill responded in style with a century on Sunday.

“Honestly, I’ll sum it up in just one line: My heartbeat playing the first ball and playing my last ball was the same. My heartbeat was the same throughout my (second) innings. That’s how nervous I was feeling,” Gill told host broadcasters Sports18.

“That’s what I was actually talking to Rahul (Dravid) sir this morning when the England team was batting, it (heartbeat) was quite weird… I’ve never experienced anything like that. It was something different that I experienced yesterday,” he added.

Gill went onto say that he had to deal with his own expectations more than the “outside pressure” that was bothering him.

“Obviously, not being able to score runs in the previous matches… and it was not only the expectations you know that are outside, but the expectations that I had for myself.

“And, I was also disappointed with the way I got out in the first innings here and in the first Test in Hyderabad. So all the expectations, I was just a bit disappointed with myself, maybe that was the reason (for the nervousness),” continued Gill.

Gill’s previous century in Tests had come during the Ahmedabad Test against Australia in March last year. And even in the first Test in Hyderabad, Gill was dismissed for scores of 23 and 0.

Gill said that he does not dwell too much into the negative publicity on social media. “I don’t read the newspapers, I don’t really go on social media to try and look for what people are saying there. If you are not doing well, I don’t expect someone to tell me I’m not doing well. I know myself I’m not doing well. More than anything else, it was my own personal disappointment,”  said the 24-year-old.

Gill did not celebrate his century in spectacular fashion, and rather it was a muted one. He didn’t take the customary bow once he reached the century, and Gill felt that it was because the job was far from complete.

“I missed out on a big one yesterday. I didn’t feel like the job was done, so I didn’t like celebrating like that. I thought once I get a double hundred or a 150 I’ll celebrate,” said Gill.

“In the first Test, I was trying to take a bit safer approach and and, maybe, that’s not the way I’ve grown up playing my game. And this Test match was all about me trying to play how I feel like playing and that’s what I told myself,” added the right-handed batter.

Gill also had nice words for Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored his maiden double century. “New people coming in are all so fearless, and it is so much fun to watch them, especially when he is batting. The way he approaches his game, it’s just fun to watch. And it’s not wild swinging; it is very calculated. He knows when to take the risk, he knows when to put the bowler under pressure.”

Gill feels Test cricket has become more entertaining thanks to Twenty20 format and that has helped batters become more fearless. “Yeah, it definitely has played a role because batters are more fearless in playing their shots. They are not worried about playing the big shots, there is no fear,” said the Punjab-born cricketer.