Team India came back rather strongly in the ongoing five-match T20I series against the West Indies with two back-to-back wins taking it to the decider after losing the opening two games. After Suryakumar Yadav and Kuldeep Yadav starred in the third T20I in Guyana, it was the turn of the openers Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal to make it count, chasing a tricky total of 179 runs in the fourth match in Lauderhill, Florida.
Jaiswal got out cheaply in the third T20I on his debut but made full use of a little better batting wicket on Saturday, August 12. Both Jaiswal and Gill took a couple of overs to get their eyes in, after which it was a partnership in the real sense. Jaiswal opened the scoring with a couple of boundaries before Gill took over. Gill raced off to 30 off 17 before Jaiswal joined him again.
The duo brought up a 100-run partnership in just the 10th over but they were not stopping on Saturday. Both notched up their fifties. While Gill got out on 77, Jaiswal made sure that he stayed unbeaten and took his side over the line. Jaiswal and Gill's 165-run stand is now the joint-highest opening partnership for India in T20Is and the joint-second highest after Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson's 176-run stand last year against Ireland for the second wicket.
Hailing the Jaiswal-Gill combination, former India batter Robin Uthappa made a tall claim comparing the duo with the legendary pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly saying that they way they bat in tandem and how they support each other, they can definitely achieve that.
"Everyone who plays for India are equally capable and have equal ability but the way Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill bat in tandem; they can bat for each other as well and they need to find that space. If they do, they are going to be a very dangerous pair for India in years to come. It will be a hot pair and they can be something as great as Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly opening the batting," Uthappa said on JioCinema.
Uthappa admitted that they are still new and need to figure out a few things but if they do, they can do some big things for the country. After a match-winning partnership in the fourth T20I, the duo will hope to replicate their feat in the series decider on Sunday.
