Shubman Gill became the youngest batter in one-day international history during the first ODI between India and New Zealand on Wednesday in Hyderabad. Gill is the fifth Indian, behind Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, and Ishan Kishan, to score an ODI double century.
On December 10, Ishan Kishan became the youngest ODI double centurion, but his record lasted only 1 month and 8 days as Shubman Gill, at 23 years and 132 days, stormed to a spectacular double century on a wicket where stroke-making was difficult. Rohit Sharma, the only player to have three ODI double hundreds, looked promising until being removed for 34 off 38 balls.
Virat Kohli, who came into the game with three hundreds in four ODIs, was bowled out by Mitchell Santner’s left-arm spin. Ishan Kishan, who was not selected for the three-match series against Sri Lanka, managed only 5 off 14 balls. Suryakumar Yadav performed admirably as a cameo, but the main onus was always going to be on Shubman Gill, who had settled in brilliantly.
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Shubman Gill hit a fluent century on Sunday, his second in one-day internationals. Three days later, Gill was back at it, hitting some beautiful shots on his way to his second consecutive century. Before a solid collaboration was shattered under contentious circumstances, he found an able ally in Hardik Pandya.
After that, India lost a couple of early wickets, but there was no stopping Shubman Gill, who has had to wait patiently for more regular opportunities. He had performed admirably for India in the Under-19 World Cup in 2018, and he was widely regarded as the next great thing in Indian cricket.
In only his 19th ODI innings, Shubman Gill batted like a seasoned veteran. During his masterclass, he surpassed the Indian record for fastest to 1000 ODI runs, which had been held for years by Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan. Gill is now the joint second-fastest player in one-day international history to reach 1000 runs.
Shubman Gill was eventually bowled out for 208 off 149 balls by Henry Shiple. As a result, India concluded with 349 for 8 off 50 overs, their fourth highest ODI score against New Zealand.
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