Shubman Gill breaks silence on India's 'unpopular' decision to enforce follow-on: 'Even if we had scored 500 runs…'

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Also Read: Shubman Gill bludgeoned by the internet after India's decision to enforce follow-on falls flat on his face

India were 270 runs ahead after the first innings, having declared at 518/5 and then bowling West Indies out for 248. Hoping to continue their assault on the Windies, the Indian team were hoping to continue their domination, only to be in for a surprise. The Windies put up a brave fight, with centuries from John Campbell and Shai Hope lifting the total in the second innings to 390 and keeping India on the ground for 200 overs. Still, the effort wasn't enough as India was set a meagre target of 120-odd. After the match, Gill opened up on his decision to enforce the follow-on, saying he's learnt from it.

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"We were around 300 runs ahead, and the wicket was such that even if we had scored 500 runs and had to get 6-7 wickets on Day 5, it could have been tough for us," Gill said during the presentation ceremony when told the 'follow-on isn't a popular decision' anymore.

"We fielded around 200 overs, so definitely there are a lot of learnings. But definitely, one of the things we spoke about was that there wasn't much happening from the wicket; it got slow with time. We thought about getting to 550, and on the last day, if we have to take 5-6 wickets, it could be difficult. I knew it was difficult, and our bowlers had to bowl a lot of overs, but I think the way our fast bowlers turned up and picked up those crucial wickets for us was very important," he said while speaking to Darren Ganga and Anil Kumble on the broadcast.

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