Indian captain Rohit Sharma who scored his 30th ODI hundred last night heap praises young batter Shubman Gill for his impressive performance in the 3-match ODI series against New Zealand.
Rohit Sharma Praises Gill
During the New Zealand tour of India 2023, 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is have been scheduled to play. He was adjudged the ‘Player of the Series’ for his sensational exploits with the willow, which included a maiden double hundred in the first match.
Gill who made his ODI debut in 2019 against New Zealand scored his first double-century against the same team on January 18, 2023. Shubman Gill with his impressive performance in the NZ ODI series equals Babar Azam’s record for scoring the most runs in a 3-match bilateral ODI series.
Praising the young batter, Rohit said, “The way he was batting in this series and before this series, I don’t think much needs to be told. He understands his batting, he paces his innings well. That is what you want in one-day cricket. You want to go big, you want to go deep in your innings. He has shown that. He has got big hundreds.
It is worth mentioning that Rohit Sharma is the only batter to score 3 ODI double-centuries in cricket history.
Recalling the pitch condition in the first ODI, Rohit said: “No matter how flat the pitch is, to get a double hundred is not easy. In that game, the next-best score was 34. It shows that he was calculative and he knows that he needs to bat deep.
A set batsman needs to bat for as long as possible. That is probably the reason we got 350-plus (349) in that game. He has got great maturity in the way he thinks about his game, the way he approaches the game.
A SIX to bring up his Double Hundred 🫡🫡
Watch that moment here, ICYMI 👇👇#INDvNZ #TeamIndia @ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/8qCReIQ3lc
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 18, 2023
While India won the ODI series, IND vs NZ T20I series will begin on January 27. The omission of Rohit and Virat made a hustle among the cricket community but Indian head coach Rahul Dravid clears the air by explaining the reason for the bold move.
“I’ve not played a lot of cricket with him. The first time I saw him was in Australia in the Test series. We all know how he batted in that Test match at Gabba. He has had his time in Test cricket. The way he is batting in ODI cricket is just wonderful to watch. I just get a feeling that he understands his game really well, and that’s the key”, he added.
Shubman Gill has so far played 21 ODIs and scored 1254 runs at an average of 73.76 which includes 4 centuries, 1 double century and 4 half-centuries.
India will play their first T20I match of the series on January 27 at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi.
