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There was an air of nostalgia at the Wankhede on Thursday. Something about the venue constantly brought back memories of that triumphant night of 2011 World Cup final. It started with Sachin Tendulkar’s statue being unveiled at the stadium; the legend himself was present for the big occasion and he also later witnessed India go up against the same team they had defeated at the very same venue 12 years back, Sri Lanka. But the moment that stood out for Ravi Shastri, who was in the commentary box back then, was the stunning 189-run second-wicket stand between Virat Kohli and young Shubman Gill. The match-reviving partnership reminded the former India head coach of the iconic Kohli-Sachin moment from the 2011 World Cup.
India did not have the best start in their chase of 275 in the 2011 final in Mumbai. Lasith Malinga struck twice with the new ball dismissing Virender Sehwag for a duck in the second delivery while Sachin was sent packing for just 18 runs in 14 balls. As the opener made his way back the pavilion to a pin-drop Wankhede crowd, in walked a 22-year-old Kohli, already touted to be the next big thing in world cricket. On his way in, the youngster was stopped by Sachin. “He had a brief chat with me when I walked in. He said, ‘build a partnership’,” Kohli later recalled in a video shared by Royal Challengers Bangalore last year.
Kohli did exactly the same. He stitched a match-reviving 83-run stand alongside Gautam Gambhir, where he played a second fiddle en route to his knock of 35 as India eventually chased down the target with 10 balls to spare.
On Thursday, Shastri, in conversation with Star Sports, witnessed the exact same when Kohli weaved a 189-run stand alongside Gill, touted to be the former’s true successor, as India revived from the early loss of Rohit Sharma to post a match-winning total of 357 for eight.
‘Gill is Gen Next’: Shastri says Kohli has passed on the baton like Tendulkar did
“Gill is Gen Next. Tendulkar, when he walked out in that 2011 World Cup, there was some words exchanged with Kohli, who walked in next, on what the pitch was behaving like. Then today we see Kohli and Gill batting together, that is Gen Next. After these guys leave, he is the king,” said Shastri.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain, who part of the discussion as well, agreed with Shastri, as he admitted comfortably Gill scored the runs at the start of the innings when the conditions at the Wankhede was a tad bit difficult.
“Shubman Gill is going to be around for a very long time. He, like Rohit, makes batting look really easy. And as Ravi Shastri was saying and Shreyas Iyer said in his interview, it wasn’t easy upfront. The ball was stopping and sticking, but he made it look so easy and comfortable. He is going to be the superstar for many years,” he said.
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