Holding nerve will be the key in the final, says India’s batter Gill

India’s vice-captain Shubman Gill exuded his excitement ahead of the high-voltage Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference in Dubai, Gill said: “We are very excited. It is my second final in an ICC event and we would like to win it this time.”

Gill played in the final of the 2024 World Cup final, which India lost to Australia and the pain is still fresh in the mind of the Indian players, which often surfaces in their statements.

Gill also said the final of any tournament is always a high-pressure game and the team which handles it better wins.

“The pressure is always there for the big matches. The team that holds their nerves better comes out on top like the West Indies of past or Australian teams of the past.

“It's easy to say there's no pressure, but the reality is that every player feels it. However, experienced players know how to manage it, like Virat bhai did well in the semifinal.”

Virat Kohli, who has been the main pillar of the Indian batting line-up for more than a decade scored a match-winning 86 against Australia as India chased down a tricky target of 265.

Gill also praised the depth of the Indian batting line-up, which is considered as one of the strongest in the world with the likes of Kohli, Gill and Rohit Sharma in their ranks.

“This is the best batting line-up that I have been a part of. Rohit bhai and Virat bhai have been the best players. Rohit bhai is a great opener and Virat is the best ODI player ever. We have a good depth in batting which allows us to play freely. Everybody knows his role in the team,” informed Gill.

“We have a lot of young players in the team. My role is if there is a young fast bowler or spinner in the team and see whether he is under pressure or not and help him if he is under pressure.

“I think last time we played well despite losing three wickets in the powerplay against them. Apart from that, there is no added discussion. I think we have played four matches and done well,” he added.

Gill also stressed that team India is still hungry to win more titles after the 50-over World Cup heartbreak in 2023 and winning the T20 World Cup in 2024. But, he ruled out they are overwhelmed with the prospect of winning another title. India ended an 11-year title drought in the ICC events by winning the Twenty20 World Cup in West Indies.

“Definitely it is about breaking the jinx. It gives you momentum. It sort of takes pressure off you. It does not mean we are less hungry. But you are not that desperate also to prove a point. It is like OK, we have done it once, we can do it again.

 “It is not good having pressure in the big games. It is important to capitalize in a big match but no matter how hard you try, you cannot get a century in every match,” Gill said.

India have a very balanced team they have won all their matches on the trot and stormed into the finals unbeaten. India fielded four spinners in their last two matches, which they won convincingly.

They are not likely to tinker about changing the winning combination, which means that they will play with two all-rounders and drop one frontline pacer again.

India have been criticized for playing all their matches in the same venue which gave them an advantage over the opponents, who were shuttling between Pakistan and the UAE.

“The nature of the pitch will be important. The pitches we are playing on here are a bit different from those in Pakistan. We have played four matches here and have done decently well, so there’s no additional discussion needed,” said the swashbuckling Indian opener, who smashed a cracking century against Bangladesh in the opening match to set the tempo.

When asked about the possibility of Rohit’s retiring after the final, Gill played down the question diplomatically: “Our only discussions have been about winning the match and the Champions Trophy. He hasn’t spoken to me or the team about this decision. I don’t think Rohit is considering it,” Gill apprised.