On Thursday, against the same opposition, Gill rose to the occasion. On a pitch that had slowed down, with stroke-making becoming difficult as the innings progressed, Gill looked at home. Not for a moment did he look out of place or struggle to adjust according to the pace of the delivery. The way he adapted to the spinners in particular told the story. According to CricViz, data analysing platform, Gill put away his stepping out to spinners approach, doing it just once in 55 balls on Thursday. This is in contrast to his overall career where he does so 7 per cent of the time.

It would not be an understatement to say that this knock could well be the one that pushes Gill to the horizon of being a match-winner. It might not have been as flashy as Virat Kohli’s 133 not out against Sri Lanka in Hobart, but the sedate unbeaten 101 could be the beginning of something special from Gill. Where he wins the match for India all by himself like Rohit and Kohli have over the past decade.

And Gill knows it too. “Definitely one of my most satisfying innings that I have played. The message was sent from outside that I have to try to bat till the end and that’s what I tried to do,” he told the broadcasters.

Given the direction in which the ODI format is going, Gill might not end up playing as many games as his predecessors. However, from hereon, every time he takes the field in a 50-over game, he will be expected to deliver. And that can only be a good thing for Gill and India.