Gill
Shubman Gill is one to look out for in future. Photo by: Prashant Bhoot /SPORTZPICS for BCCI.

18-year-old Shubman Gill isn’t stranger to the limelight. The man of the series of the U19 World Cup, Gill has impressed one and all with his strokeplay.

Robin Uthappa
Less is more for Kolkata Knight Riders feels Robin Uthappa.

His gritty half-century against Chennai Super Kings in the IPL made skipper Dinesh Karthik promote the youngster up the order. The Punjab boy was roped in by the purple and gold unit for INR 1.8 crore in the auction. KKR coach Jacques Kallis has been highly impressed with the bright prospect.

Gill
Shubman Gill. Photo by: Luke Walker /SPORTZPICS for BCCI

“It’s been a slightly frustrating week in which we produced one of our best and most clinical performances of the competition and then followed it up with one of the most disappointing. There were so many aspects of the win against Chennai that were impressive but the calmness and clear-thinking really stood out for me. At the halfway point of their innings, it seemed highly likely that CSK would set a target of 200+ on a perfect batting wicket but the spinners pulled it back superbly, all three of them delivering dot balls and preventing boundaries at crucial times,” Kallis wrote in Wednesday’s column for TOI.

Gill
Shubman Gill celebrates his fifty. . Photo by: Luke Walker /SPORTZPICS for BCCI

Gill steps up the ladder

Gill’s 57 carried six fours and a couple of maximums. He forged a match-winning stand with Karthik after coming into bat with his side restricted to 40/2 at one stage. We also lost a couple of early wickets but, once again, we stayed calm and played clinical cricket. It gave an opportunity to Shubman Gill to bat higher up the order and he took it in some style. We were very clear in our management of his first experience in the IPL – we wanted to ease him in gradually rather than throw him into the deep end with great expectations,” said Kallis, who has also represented KKR in the past.

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The Knight Riders are at the fourth spot currently and defeat in the hands of Mumbai Indians tonight will be severe to them. The side hasn’t won a single encounter against the Mumbai boys in their last seven meetings.