On Wednesday, in the third Twenty20 International against New Zealand and India, Shubman Gill scored his first Twenty20 International hundred.
India’s first innings score of 234/4 against New Zealand in the third Twenty20 International of their three-match series at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad was a batting display to remember. Shubman Gill scored 126 not out off 63 balls, and cameos from Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya gilded the crown gem of the innings.
Gill and Ishan Kishan opened the batting and both batted slowly and steadily. After losing Kishan in the second over, he was prepared to let Tripathi take the initiative, but he was careful to maintain a high strike rate himself.
While Tripathi tried to throw off the Kiwi bowlers’ timing, Gill scored runs quickly thanks to some old-school cricketing strokes. Punjab’s hitter, Gill, overcame a little setback on the penultimate ball of the powerplay when Blair Tickner made a diving catch of the high, whirling ball Gill had shot into the air.
In the 12th over, when Suryakumar Yadav was doing his normal aggressive cricket at the other end, Gill reached his first T20I half-century off of 35 balls. But after losing Yadav, Hardik Pandya, the captain, joined him in the middle, and he stepped up his game.
He went without a boundary for a few overs before pulling Lockie Ferguson for six in the 14th over and then scoring two sixes off of rookie bowler Benjamin Lister in the 16th over.
Gill, who could now see the ball quite well, continued his onslaught on the New Zealand bowlers, smashing them to all parts of the ground. His first fifty came off of 35 balls, but his second fifty came off of only nineteen as he reached his maiden T20I century with a brilliant lofted cover drive in the eighteenth over.
Despite two more dropped chances, both of which were pretty difficult, Gill continued to carry his bat through the innings and end up not out for 126 off of only 63 balls. Gill’s innings were a master class in how to pace yourself in a Twenty20 match, and it served as a reminder that he is currently one of the best hitters in the game.
Take a look at how the Twittersphere responded to Gill’s knock:
“Putting up hundreds one after another… ShubMan seems to have just started
Good going @ShubmanGill!”
-tweeted Dinesh Kartik.
“The best part about Gill’s batting is how many good balls he hits for 4s & 6s. Batting like a dream. Congratulations on maiden T20I ton @ShubmanGill”
-tweeted Wasim Jaffer.
“Unstoppable Shubman Gill” – RCVJ Media
Twitter was filled with powerful memes, praises, and applauses for Shubman Gill for his great opening.
