IND v NZ, 1st ODI: Shubman Gill becomes youngest player to score a double century in ODIs

Jan 19, 2023

IND v NZ, 1st ODI: Shubman Gill becomes youngest player to score a double century in ODIs Image

Right-handed India opener Shubman Gill smashed a magnificent double century in the first ODI against New Zealand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday.

Gill's stunning knock put him in exclusive company as one of only eight players in the game's history to have scored a double hundred in a men's ODI, with him being the youngest of the eight. Gill was 23 years and 132 days old when the first ODI began.

Ishan Kishan set the previous record with his 210 against Bangladesh last month at the age of 24 years and 145 days.

Gill was out in the final over of his 208-ball knock, having hit 19 fours and nine sixes to help India to a massive score of 349/8. Captain Rohit Sharma scored the next highest score in the innings, 34. The young opener's scoring rate increased throughout the innings, with his first 50 runs coming off 52 pitches. He went from 50 to 100 in 35 deliveries and then from 100 to 150 in the same number of deliveries.

But it was his final flurry that saw him go from 150 to 200 in just 23 balls, passing the double-century mark thanks to three consecutive sixes off Lockie Ferguson in the 49th over.

He also became the fastest Indian cricketer to 1000 ODI runs when he scored 106 in his 19th ODI innings. It extends Gill's unbeaten run in one-day international cricket, which began with a 97-ball 116 against Sri Lanka in the series finale at Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.

Gill surpassed Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, who shared the previous record of 24 innings, to become the fastest Indian and joint-second fastest ODI player to 1000 runs. He tied Pakistan opener Iman-ul-record Haq's of 1000 ODI runs in 19 innings while falling short of another Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman's record of 1000 ODI runs in 18 innings.

He had a lucky break just before reaching fifty in the 19th over. New Zealand skipper Tom Latham dropped the batter and also failed to stump Michael Bracewell. Gill was also dropped on 124 by fast bowler Henry Shipley, who missed a caught and bowled opportunity, which proved costly in the end.

With his 264 against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2014, Rohit still holds the record for the highest individual score in a men's ODI. He is the only player to have reached a double-hundred in the format three times, the others coming against Australia in 2013 (209) and Sri Lanka in 2017 (208 not out).