Gill’s masterclass double ton guides India to a mammoth total

Hyderabad, Jan 18: Shubman Gill single handedly guided India to a mammoth total of 349/8 after notching up a masterclass maiden double hundred against New Zealand in the first ODI at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Wednesday.Gill scored 208 off 149 balls with 19 boundaries and 9 sixes. This knock completely overshadowed the century he smashed against Sri Lanka a couple of days ago.
Sample this – from 147 runs onwards, Gill reached his double ton by dealing only with sixes, which was something rare in any format of the game. He hammered half a dozen sixes, before reaching 200.
The Delhi lad appeared unfazed by the two-paced nature of the pitch and was equally adept against New Zealand pacers and spinners, putting a lot of pressure on the NZ bowlers.Other Indian batsmen did not have the flow as Gill had, except Captain Rohit Sharma (34 off 35) and Hardik Pandya (28 off 38).Gill was in his element when he took on an usually prudish Mitchell Santner to the cleaners.
As we walked back proudly, Gill could hardly realise that he became the fastest Indian to record 1000 ODI runs.Gill also smashed back-to-back centuries in the ODI, after clobbering 97-ball 116 against Sri Lanka in the third ODI in Thiruvananthapuram.Gill broke the previous record of Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, who achieved the feat in their 24th innings, to become the fastest Indian and the joint-second fastest ever to 1000 runs mark in ODIs.Gill’s third century came off just 87 balls in 19 innings. Prior to him Shikar Dhawan had reached the third century in fewer innings than him, in the list of Indian batsmen.Gill had his slice of luck before he reached his fifty, which came off 52 balls, in the 19th over. New Zealand skipper Tom Latham dropped him and missed a stumping opportunity off Michael Bracewell.
Darly Mitchell and Shipley bagged two wickets each and Lockie Farguson, Blair Tickner, and Santner claimed a wicket each for New Zealand. When New Zealand come in to bat, this will be quite a chase, because it is neither bad, nor a belter of a pitch. For them, a Gill-like knock and collective efforts to cross the line.