"Didn't expect Jamieson would reverse the ball," Gill admits the mistake in his dismissal

On a hazy Kanpur morning, it was Shubman Gill's judicious strokeplay that brightened things for the hosts. India were 82/1 at lunch in 29 overs out of which, 52 came from the willow of the young Indian opener. However, Gill couldn't add to it post lunch as he received a peach of a delivery from Kyle Jamieson. Talking to the press post the day's play, Gill spoke about his dismissal in detail, praising Jamieson for his brilliance with the ball. 

"I think he (Jamieson) bowled pretty well today especially in the first spell, he bowled pretty good areas to me and after lunch, the whole spell that he bowled was top notch," Gill said after the end of day's play.

The problem with the dismissal was the early reverse swing, according to Gill as the ball was merely 30 overs old. "Sometimes, it's difficult to start knowing when it's reverse-swinging and especially after coming back from lunch, I didn't expect the ball to reverse that early in the game," Gill was frank in his admission.

"That's the thing about Test cricket, you have to read the conditions fast. In this particular innings, I wasn't able to read that ball well as generally, I wasn't expecting the ball to reverse."

In the morning session, Gill was exceptional in negating the spin of Ajaz Patel and Will Somerville. The young opener attributed it to playing Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the nets.

"If you are already playing two of the best spinners in nets, especially in India, it does help, because if you try to negotiate them, you have a much better chance of going in the middle of the match and trying to handle those crucial periods of time."

Gill mentioned about the shear pleasure of playing in front of fans, who were kept out of stadiums for a long time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Obviously, it felt good, to be able to play a match in India with crowd back and we are looking forward towards the rest of match."

While he has opened the batting, Gill reminded that if need be, he can bat in the middle-order too.

"I have opened for (my) state team, India A in first-class matches, in other countries, I have batted in middle order as well, it's more on the mental side rather than technique."

Gill also spoke about the positive side of Rahul Dravid's presence in the Indian dressing room as the new head coach. "It does make a difference when you have played age-group cricket under him. You would know what to expect from that person," stated Gill appreciating the fact that someone who mentored him in his formative years is now at the helm of the senior team.

"Rahul sir was with us throughout our Under-19 days and not just the World Cup but the entire journey we had," he concluded.