Trial by spin on slow Dubai pitches a key step in Gill's evolution

Opening batters have scored 12 hundreds in the 52 matches that Shubman Gill has played. Eight of them have come off Gill's blade. Overall, the openers have averaged 38.89 and struck at 95.33 in these matches. Gill has gone at 62.13 and 100.55. It is no surprise India have won 38 of these matches. No batter has got off to such a good start to their career. Hashim Amla came close, averaging 56.38 after 52 matches.

A great start, of course, doesn't necessarily mean a great career. Two of the top five at 52 matches have gone on to have middling careers: Imam-ul-Haq and Shai Hope. The longevity and the greatness depend on how a batter evolves over time to deal with the variety of challenges oppositions and different conditions throw at them.

The first real challenge thrown at Gill in ODIs was perhaps the slow turning tracks of Sri Lanka, where a strong India lost 2-0 to Sri Lanka, collapsing to spin in all three games (one ended in a tie). Gill aggregated just 57 runs in 93 balls, failing to break free and then getting out in an ungainly manner.

Openers get the best conditions to bat in in most ODIs. They also get field restrictions to work with. They should get the team ahead of the asking rate or get out trying. Gill's approach was right; he just needed to get better at handling spin in helpful conditions.

Playing all their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai, which had just hosted the ILT20, India were going to play on slow, if not turning, pitches again. Gill has found a way to succeed so far, scoring more runs than any India batter. He has done so by picking his battles. Against pace, he has scored 105 runs off 112 balls, but only 42 off 69 against spin. Even among the quicks, Gill didn't go after Mustafizur Rahman, who can bowl into the surface and use changes of pace.

While it shows signs of a clever batter who can put his head down and swallow his ego once a good start has been achieved, Gill has not faced a side in this tournament that takes away this option from him. Sri Lanka could bowl more than 40 overs of spin if they wanted to. Bangladesh had two frontline spinners, Pakistan one. He could absorb quiet periods because, inevitably, pace on the ball would come back for him to capitalise on. He has played only five attacking shots against 69 balls of spin. His strike rate against spin in this tournament has been lower than all other India batters put together.

Not facing enough spin has generally been a reprieve for India in this tournament. Their spinners, bowling first, have gone at 4.63 an over, but their batters have scored at under four when facing spin. This is an aspect of the game that could test India and Gill.

New Zealand, India's next opponents, have Mitchell Santner and a host of other spin-bowling allrounders, but the stakes in this match are only as high as avoiding the Group B leaders in the semi-finals. Australia, South Africa and Afghanistan can also bowl two frontline spinners plus a part-timer. The pitches in Dubai will not play any quicker than they have so far.

Again, the onus will be on Gill - with his opening partner Rohit Sharma batting like the more dispensable wicket of the two - to make the most of the best batting conditions and field restrictions to ensure that the middle order does not face an uphill task. These next two or three matches will be an important step in Gill's evolution as an ODI batter.