"When he bats, it seems he is million-dollar" - Aakash Chopra on Shubman Gill's knock in 1st India vs West Indies ODI

Aakash Chopra has pointed out that Shubman Gill looks like a million-dollar player when he is in full flow with the bat.

Gill smashed 64 runs off just 53 deliveries in the first ODI between Team India and West Indies, played at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on Friday, July 22. His knock helped Men in Blue set a 309-run target for the Caribbean side and the visitors went on to win the match by three runs.

While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was all praise for Gill, elaborating:

"Shubman Gill batted extremely well. The way he started with the drive, after that the punch, and the straight six he hit, he is brilliant. When he bats, it seems he is million-dollar."

While praising Gill for scoring a half-century, Chopra highlighted that the youngster missed a chance to play a three-figure knock. The former Indian batter explained:

"A half-century is a fantastic return but in my opinion, it was a century missed, an opportunity not lost but definitely missed, because you were playing very well, the opposition team was down, the wrestler had fallen and you just had to crush him."

Gill's 64-run knock was studded with six fours and two sixes. He was the dominant partner in his 119-run partnership for the opening wicket with Shikhar Dhawan, who also missed his century by just three runs.

---

"I was slightly disappointed" - Aakash Chopra on Shubman Gill's dismissal

Shubman Gill was found short of his crease while taking a single [P/C: Twitter]

Chopra was slightly critical of Gill's dismissal mode. He observed:

"The way he got run out, that was a lazy run, honestly. It was his own call, it was an easy run as well but he didn't reach the other end, he was out by such a huge margin, put in the dive. I was slightly disappointed."

Chopra was also slightly surprised by the Indian team management's call to play Gill ahead of Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad. The commentator said:

"Shikhar Dhawan surprised us slightly at the toss. We were all thinking about Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad but he said they are playing Shubman Gill. They caught us off-guard because no one said Shubman can play."

Most cricket experts felt the Indian team would open with either Gaikwad or Kishan alongside Dhawan. But the Indian team management opted to play Gill ahead of the duo and the lanky opener repaid them for the trust shown in him by scoring his maiden ODI fifty.