Young India opener Shubman Gill, who on Wednesday became the youngest player to hit a double century in ODIs, said his intention was to put pressure on the New Zealand bowlers and it paid off. Gill hit a masterclass 208 from 149 balls with 19 fours and nine maximums to lift India to an imposing 349 for 8. of-the-match award following India’s nerve-racking 12-run victory over New Zealand in the series opener at Hyderabad.
Gill staged his innings brilliantly with his first 50 off 52 balls. He went from 50 to 100 with just 35 deliveries and again from 100 to 150 with just 35 balls. But it was his final flurry that really got the acceleration off the ground, with Gill going from 150 to 200 in just 23 balls and passing the double century, courtesy of three consecutive sixes.
“With wickets falling sometimes I wanted to unleash and I’m glad I was able to do it at the end. Sometimes when the bowler is on top you have to make them feel under pressure,” Gill said of his strategy.
“I had to dodge punt balls and show some intent and hit hard in the holes that I was doing. I wasn’t really thinking about 200, but once I hit sixes in the 47th over, I felt I could do it. Before that, I played whatever came to mind.”
Young star
At 23 years and 132 days, Gill is now the youngest player to score the double hundred in men’s ODIs, eclipsing his teammate Ishan Kishan, who set the record with his 210 against Bangladesh last month at the age of 24 years and 145 days .
“He (Kishan) is one of my best friends… It feels good when you want to do something and it comes off regularly,” said Gill.
Gill took 19 innings to complete 1000 runs in ODIs, tied for second fastest alongside Imam-ul-Haq.
Fakhar Zaman is fastest with his goal in 18 innings.
Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan (24 innings) were previously the fastest Indians to 1000 ODI runs.
“It (double barrel) has sunk in pretty well. I wouldn’t call it a ‘wow’ feeling, but it feels nice when the ball goes off the bat the way you want it to.
“There’s definitely a sense of accomplishment. This is definitely one of those things, like what dreams are made of,” Gill said.
India skipper Rohit Sharma was also effusive in his praise for Gill.
“Watching Gill-bat is fantastic, hitting clean and no aerial shots. We wanted to give him a run for the Sri Lanka series because of the kind of form he was in. He’s such a free-flowing batsman,” said Rohit.
Rohit was also full of praise for India pacer Mohammed Siraj who was the best bowler for India with figures of 4/46.
“Siraj has been brilliant, even in the other two formats lately. He’s been going from strength to strength, running hard and clear about what he wants to do. He’s not afraid to use the short ball too, which is exciting. ” added the skipper.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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