Shubman Gill in action against New Zealand© BCCI
Shubman Gill slammed his maiden double century off just 145 balls during the first ODI encounter between India and New Zealand in Hyderabad on Wednesday. He became the fifth Indian cricketer ever to achieve the feat and his innings was adorned with 19 boundaries and eight massive sixes. Earlier, the feat was achieved by Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan. He also became the youngest cricketer to hit a double century in ODIs – a record previously held by Kishan.
It was a near-perfect performance for the youngster who looked completely in control against the New Zealand bowlers. He stitched together a solid 50-run partnership with Rohit for the opening wicket and although Rohit was dismissed, Gill continued without any discomfort on the pitch with an even bounce.
The right-hander continued to play his shots even when India lost two quick wickets in the form of Virat Kohli and Ishan Kishan. Gill was able to reach his third ODI century and in the process, he also became the fastest Indian cricketer to score 1000 ODI runs surpassing the likes of Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan.
The run-scoring got easier once he went past the 100-run mark and he continued to take on almost all bowlers. He was able to bring up his 150 in 122 balls and even as he continued to lose partners on the other end, Gill decided to take an aggressive stance that was instrumental in taking India past 300.
With two overs to go in the innings, he slammed Lockie Ferguson for three sixes in a row to bring up a memorable double century. This was incidentally the highest score ever against New Zealand in the history of ODI cricket as he went past India legend Sachin Tendulkar’s score of 186 in Nagpur.
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