A natural fit: Gill's chance to show his time has come

In theatre, performers exit the stage by bowing, a sign of gratitude to the audience for watching, listening, and enjoying.

- 

DUBAI: It's as humble as one can get. Shubman Gill's signature celebratory bow has a similar feel. It has none of Virat Kohli's mid-air pumping of fists, rather it has a classical tinge - an artist in front of his audience.

The sobriety of his celebrations aside, Gill has been taking a bow pretty often because he knows all about pacing an ODI innings. The century against Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy on Thursday was the slowest of his eight hundreds but it was exactly what his team needed.

These days, when his senior partner Rohit Sharma is going hammer-and-tongs at the other end, Gill is happy to sit back in the first 10 overs. In Dubai, with the new ball not quite coming off the surface, he decided to go aerial more often while the field up. Later, when the spinners came on, between him and Kohli, they decided, hitting straight wasn't easy, and rotated the strike often. Just as those climbing the corporate ladder learn on-the-job the quickest, Gill is comprehending and executing mid-pitch lessons from seniors the best.

While Rohit's chancy knock eventually ran out of luck at 41, Gill kept attacking Bangladesh pacers with inside out drives that oozed class. Even as Kohli couldn't see off Rishad Hossein's spell of leg-spin, Gill batted on, choosing to be circumspect against the spinners and capitalising against the pacers.