Shubman Gill, the young Indian opener, continued to demonstrate his batting skills in the One-Day International format, registering his name in a handful of record books with a superb performance against New Zealand in the inaugural match at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. In just 19 innings, the 23-year-old became the fastest Indian to amass 1000 runs in ODIs. He did it faster than Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, who both took 24 innings to reach the milestone.
Gill began the match 106 runs short of 1000 runs, but he smashed a spectacular century to write history.
Overall, Gill is the joint-second fastest ODI cricketer to break the milestone, with only Pakistan’s Imam-ul-Haq. While Fakhar Zaman leads the table after completing the feat in 18 innings.
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Fewest innings to 1000 ODI runs
- 18 – Fakhar Zaman
- 19 – Imam-ul-Haq/ Shubman Gill
- 21 – Viv Richards/ Kevin Pietersen/ Jonathan Trott/ Quinton de Kock/ Babar Azam/ Rassie vd Dussen
Fewest innings to 1000 ODI runs by an Indian
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- 19 – Shubman Gill
- 24 – Virat Kohli/ Shikhar Dhawan
- 25 – Navjot Singh Sindhu/ Shreyas Iyer
Gill hit a boundary off the fourth delivery of the 33rd over to become the first player in ODI history to surpass 1000 runs.
Gill delivered back-to-back centuries in the third ODI against Sri Lanka, laying the groundwork for a big triumph alongside Kohli. During his majestic knock, the 23-year-old seemed completely in control, hitting 15 fours and two sixes to reach the triple-digit mark. He didn’t allow the Blackcaps bowlers much of a chance to get the better of him.
He also became the second-fastest Indian hitter in ODI history to achieve three centuries. Only veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan (17 innings) has reached the third ODI century in fewer innings than Gill.
Meanwhile, in the series opener against New Zealand, Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bat first. Rohit and young Gill put up a good 60-run stand to get things going. However, the Indian captain was removed for 34 after failing to convert a solid start into a big score.
Kohli (8) and Ishan Kishan (5) were also out in rapid succession, but Gill held firm and established a critical 65-run stand with Suryakumar Yadav (31) to reignite the Indian innings and lay the groundwork for a big total.
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