Gill was batting 79 when he left the field in India’s 23rd innings; he returned to bat in the final over, after the fall of the fourth wicket, and fielded throughout New Zealand’s innings. He has since confirmed that he is fit to play in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad on November 19.
“It started with cramps and then I pulled my hamstring a little bit,” Gill said in his post-match press conference. “There was quite a bit of humidity and it was the aftermath of dengue.”
Gill returned to the Indian team after missing their first two league matches and has played all eight matches since then. While he suggested that it had not had any major impact on his game, Gill said that dengue had left him with reduced muscle mass.
“Honestly, I haven’t adjusted anything in terms of batting, but since I’ve lost a bit of muscle mass, I think the reserve I had before dengue has gone down a bit.” […] You get cramps when you play in wet conditions, but for me [it] “This happens after a long period of time, not so soon,” he explained. “But because I think I’ve lost a little bit of muscle mass; the reserve has gone down a little bit.”
“If I hadn’t had cramps, maybe I would have scored a hundred,” said Gill, who scored an unbeaten 80 off 66 balls. “But I think the total we were trying to achieve, regardless of whether I got a hundred or not, we achieved it. We were hoping to score around 400, we had expectations that by 25-30th we should have scored these “A lot of runs, and we did it, so it didn’t matter whether I made a century or not.”
Kohli’s 117 was his 50th century in ODIs – the innings took him past Sachin Tendulkar’s 49-year-old record. When asked about the experience of having played alongside Kohli, Gill highlighted his senior’s hunger for success as the most inspiring quality about him.
“You know, every time he comes to the park, he does something special and how consistently he’s been able to do it over the last 10 to 15 years is what’s really inspiring,” he said. “And I think, for me, it’s not so much about the skill that he has, but more about the hunger when he goes there and the intensity with which he plays the game is what inspires me. And to be able to have that consistently throughout the game.” that he’s been doing it is what really inspires me.
