Shubman Gill

Hyderabad witnessed a player with immense self-belief and the special ability to hit good balls to the boundary.

It also meant a lot to the Hyderabad fans who turned up in droves despite the venue being cut off from the city, and despite the traffic diversions imposed for the game as well as for the funeral of the last titular Nizam of Hyderabad making it even more difficult for them to reach the ground. Once I was set, the main focus for me was to obviously be there for the team and score as many runs as possible. "And even today when wickets were falling, my main focus was to show some intent to the bowler because it becomes very easy for the bowler to bowl dot balls if the batsman is not going to show any intent that he's going to hit any boundaries - even if we have lost a wicket. "I think in the first ODI against Sri Lanka and in the third ODI, I was set, and I was looking to get a big score, but unfortunately that didn't happen for me. So that was my intent - even when wickets were falling to show the bowler that I will hit you if you're going to bowl bad balls." Gill himself was dropped twice, but nothing could stop him from powering India's innings in the middle and end overs with his attacking enterprise. The Hyderabad pitch was a challenging one with some balls holding up and others skidding onto the bat. They're not supposed to do this against one of the fastest bowlers in the world. It wasn't a long hop, but Gill made it seem like one because of his strong back-foot game, which he honed on cement wickets, and delightful wristwork. The second-highest score in India's innings was Rohit's 34. Shikhar Dhawan, one of India's finest ODI openers, can't even find a place in the squad. Rohit Sharma had been dismissed by a Blair Tickner ball that had stuck in the surface.