India batter Shubman Gill has been hogging headlines following his phenomenal double-century in the opening ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
The young opener smashed an explosive 208 runs off just 149 deliveries, helping India produce a massive total of 349 runs. In reply, the Kiwis fell short by just 12 runs in reaching the target and the hosts earned a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
After the match was finished, an emphatic celebration broke out in the Indian dressing room with Gill – the player of the match – being the centrepiece. Following a brief cake-cutting ceremony, the India cricketers expressed their thoughts on Gill’s impressive double ton. BCCI dropped the excerpts of the same on their official Twitter handle.
From star batter Virat Kohli to head coach Rahul Dravid, each squad member showered immense praise on Shubman Gill.
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya hardly took any time to say, “This was the best innings I have ever seen in my life. If it wouldn’t be the double-hundred, it would still be one of the best innings.”
As a reason, Pandya highlighted the effortlessness of Gill while playing the shots all around the park. “I actually don’t get goosebumps. But when he got the double hundred, I got goosebumps,” Pandya lauded further.
Master Virat Kohli had a lot to tell about Gill as well. He marked the youngster’s innings as an “outstanding” one referring to the fact that no other India batter managed to cross the 40-run barrier. Indeed, the next highest score was skipper Rohit Sharma’s 34.
“I think he was totally in his element today. He showed why so many people have been saying great things about him for years.” Moreover, the 34-year-old suggested Gill build on the knock and continue the rhythm in future as well.
Watch: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan welcome Shubman Gill to 200-run club
Coach Rahul Dravid refused to spend much of his word and briefly stated, “Just achieving his potential. Many more to go.”
Pacer Mohammad Siraj, who certainly was another hero of the game for his remarkable 4-wicket spell, termed Gill’s knock nothing but “phenomenal.”
Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal recalled the advice he gave Gill ahead of the match in his goofy style and said, “When you are batting well, you should play the entire 50 overs. You can see the result.”
Young bowler Washington Sundar also seemed overwhelmed and labelled the innings as an “unreal knock.”
The sensational knock of Shubman Gill was decorated with as many as 19 fours and 9 maximums. Notably, the right-handed batter whacked three back-to-back sixes to reach his double hundred.
With the towering innings, Gill went on to shatter a number of records. He became the fastest Indian batter to rack up 1,000 ODI runs.
The 23-year-old is also the youngest cricketer to breach the 200-run mark. Furthermore, his 208-run knock is the highest individual score by an Indian batter against the Kiwis in 50-over cricket after Sachin Tendulkar’s 186.
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