Intent in cricket is one of those hard-to-define terms, often used (or overused) as a jargon to define a team’s or player’s approach. It is also an entity of the you-know-it-when-you-see-it kind.
Watching Shubman Gill in action against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in the first T20I, one could observe the mythical concept of ‘intent’ on display.
Gill’s early onslaught, alongside fellow opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, set the tone for India’s comfortable win in the series opener.
The 24-year-old Gill took an aggressive guard against the Lankan bowlers in the PowerPlay, scoring a 16-ball 34, as he broke away from a string of conservative knocks in the format.
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In Zimbabwe, where he led the side to a 4-1 series win, Gill played within himself, accumulating 170 runs at a paltry strike rate of 125.92.
It was a shortcoming admitted by the Punjab-born batter himself.
“My performance in T20Is before the World Cup this year wasn’t how I had expected it to be. Hopefully, going forward, in the upcoming cycle. I can improve my performance when it comes to batting,” said Gill ahead of the three-match series against Sri Lanka.
On Saturday, Gill put his words into action as he unleashed an array of aggressive, yet graceful strokes, to finish with a 200+ strike rate in a T20I innings for the first time this year.
He got his innings underway with a couple of delectable square cuts, which fizzled across the surface to hit the fence.
When the Lankan pacers dragged their length back, Gill brought out his trademark short-arm jab to pummel it over the infield.
But the biggest indicator of a change in Gill’s intent was the nature of his dismissal. Despite hammering left-arm quick Dilshan Madushanka for a pair of fours and a six in the last over of the PowerPlay, the Indian opener decided to launch one straight over the bowler.
Gill though failed to latch onto a slower one from Madushanka, resulting in a not-too-easy catch for Asitha Fernando at mid-on. But, by the time he walked back into the hut, India had 74 runs on the board.
Gill’s refurbished approach was also an extension of India’s assertive ploy with the bat, enabled by a long batting order.
“Our intent always depends on the situation. If it is a good batting surface and you can play your strokes, you need to show intent and we saw that today during the PowerPlay. We also went in with eight batters. So, based on that calculation, we needed to show some intent and we did just that,” explained all-rounder Axar Patel at the post-match press conference.
With the likes of Abhishek Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad – openers who both have T20 strike rates better than Gill – waiting on the sidelines, it only seems appropriate for Gill to press on the accelerator, a bit more, in the format.
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