Shubman Gill became the youngest batter to hit a double hundred in one-day internationals during the first ODI between India and New Zealand in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Gill is also the 5th Indian after Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan to hit an ODI double hundred.
Ishan Kishan, on December 10, had become the youngest ODI double centurion but the record stood for only 1 month and 8 days as Shubman Gill aged 23 years and 132 days, stormed to a sensational double hundred on a pitch where stroke-making was not easy. Rohit Sharma, the only player to hit 3 ODI double hundreds, looked good before he was dismissed for 34 off 38.
Virat Kohli, who had walked into bat on the back of 3 hundreds in 4 ODIs, fell to the left-arm spin of Mitchell Santner. Ishan Kishan, who did not find a spot in the playing XI for the 3-match series against Sri Lanka, managed only 5 off 14 balls. Suryakumar Yadav played a nice camoeo but the real onus was always going to be on Shubman Gill who had settled in brilliantly.
Gill batted like a seasoned pro in only his 19th ODI innings. During the course of his masterclass, he broke the Indian record for fastest to 1000 ODI runs jointly held by Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan for years. Gill in fact is now the joint second-fastest ever to hit 1000 runs in one-day internationals.
Gill eventually got out for 208 off 149 balls before falling to Henry Shiple. Consequently, India finished with 349 for 8 off 50 overs, their fourth higest score against New Zealand in ODIs.
