Shubman Gill reveals mantra to ODI success after successful T20 run in IPL: ‘I had a target for myself that…’

India captain Shubman Gill revealed he was in a "pretty good space" after starring in his team's clinical 170-run victory over Afghanistan in the second ODI in Lucknow on Wednesday. Gill struck a majestic 154 and shared a mammoth 224-run partnership with Ishan Kishan (125), who also scored a century as the Men in Blue posted a mammoth 402 on the board after they were invited to bat at the Ekana Cricket Stadium.

It was the second century in three outings for Gill across formats against Afghanistan, with the Indian Test and ODI captain having struck 126 in the one-off Test in New Chandigarh followed by an unbeaten 84 in the rain-curtained first one-dayer in Dharamsala.

'I'm feeling very confident from the first ball'

The 26-year-old was in red-hot form in the Indian Premier League, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer while leading Gujarat Titans into the final, and has carried that over to the international arena as well.

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"Honestly, in a pretty good space. The ball is going exactly where I want it to go and I'm feeling very confident from the first ball. Even in this match, in the series actually, I had a target for myself that I want to be there, I want to finish the matches and bat till 40-45 overs and build that habit, whenever I get a start, I want to convert those into big ones," Gill said during the post-match presentation ceremony after being adjudged the Player of the Match.

Afghanistan were later restricted to 232, with Arshdeep Singh (3/45) and Gurnoor Brar (3/60) collecting three wickets each and Prince Yadav collecting 2/56 on international debut, making his first appearance for his country at the venue that is his home ground in the Indian Premier League.

Rahmat Shah was the only Afghan batter to score a half-century and was the last man to fall, getting dismissed for an 89-ball 79 while Sediqullah Atal (42 off 50) and opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (41 off 33) chipped in with handy knocks. Darwish Rasooli, who had suffered an injury earlier in the day, had retired hurt on 6 on ODI debut.

Gill praises bowlers for thriving in Lucknow heat

Gill later heaped praise on his bowlers for producing a clinical collective performance in energy-sapping conditions.

"I think they're all in very good space. The way our fast bowlers are bowling in this heat, on these wickets, it's not easy to keep hitting the deck, keep hitting those areas consistently with that pace. So very happy with that," he added.

The victory helped India clinch the three-match ODI series with a game to spare, resulting in Gill's first win as ODI captain since he succeeded Rohit Sharma in the role in October last year.

The two teams will face each other in the third and final ODI in Chennai on Saturday.