In the third and final game against New Zealand here on Tuesday, Rohit Sharma scored his first ODI century in three years, while Shubman Gill continued his explosive run, leading India to 385 for nine.
The two put on a ferocious 212-run opening stand, with Rohit Sharma(101 off 85 balls) reaching three figures for the first time since January 2020. Gill (112 off 78 balls) scored his fourth ODI century.
On the eve of the match, Rahul Dravid joked that bowlers don’t want to bowl as soon as they arrive in Indore because of the batter-friendly conditions. The batting legend had a valid point.
The New Zealanders rolling their arms during the first 25 overs would have agreed with Dravid. At one point, every ball touched by Rohit Sharma and Gill’s bat was either flying to or over the boundary.
Gill hit four fours and a six off Lockie Ferguson’s eighth over to score 22 runs, exemplifying the 23-year-recent old’s form. The youngster didn’t even have to time the ball to run to the boundary.
He launched the short ball for an upper-cut six after three fours.
He reached his half-century with a stylish four-ball drive off extra cover. A couple of overs later, Rohit Sharma added to his fifty with a six over Mitchell Santner’s head.
Fans reaction as India Smash New Zealand and Rohit Sharma ‘s Century
New Zealand fielders today…#INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/NAAy9s7SMl
— Mohit Parihar 🇮🇳 (@MohitParihar28) January 24, 2023
How about that for a start! 👌 👌@hardikpandya7 strikes early to dismiss Finn Allen 👍 👍
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 24, 2023
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/ojTz5RqWZf#TeamIndia | #INDvNZ | @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/EH6ZEsWyEG
.@ShubmanGill scored a fantastic hundred & was our top performer from the first innings of the third #INDvNZ ODI 👌 👌 #TeamIndia | @mastercardindia
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 24, 2023
A summary of his knock 🔽 pic.twitter.com/uJAYfPLUCx
Kya jamke batting kiye hain
— Manish Kumar Arya (@ManishK01848002) January 24, 2023
Rohit Gill and Hardik pic.twitter.com/fb1T48Diq2
The relatively inexperienced New Zealand bowling unit had no answers to the Indian openers’ carnage, with the outfield quick and the wicket flat.
India raced to 200 after Rohit and Gill combined for 22 fours and 11 sixes.
Both Rohit Sharma and Gill scored centuries in the 26th over, matching each other’s strike rates. Rohit drew away to deep square to complete his century. Gill reached triple digits three balls later, his third in four innings.
New Zealand skipper Tom Latham used up to six bowlers, and it was spinner Michael Bracewell, his sixth option, who gave the tourists their first breakthrough.
Attempting to slog one out of the park, Rohit missed the ball as it stayed low and turned to hit the stumps. The partisan crowd erupted at his wicket, welcoming Virat Kohli (36).
Gill’s innings was ended by a miscued shot in the next over, as New Zealand struck twice in quick succession.
Ishan Kishan (17) appeared uneasy and took nine balls to open his account. The wicketkeeper batter’s stay in the middle ended with a yes-no with Kohli, who had sprinted halfway.
New Zealand were able to hit boundaries and sixes, and Kohli was unable to beat Finn Allen at mid-off when looking to play a big shot.
On course for a 400-plus total, India suffered a familiar middle-order batting collapse before Hardik Pandya (54) provided the finishing flourish.
Scoreboard
India: Rohit Sharma b Bracewell 101 Shubman Gill c Conway b Tickner 112 Virat Kohli c Allen b Duffy 36 Ishan Kishan run out (Nicholls) 17 Suryakumar Yadav c Conway b Duffy 14 Hardik Pandya c Conway b Duffy 54 Washington Sundar c Mitchell b Tickner 9 Shardul Thakur c Latham b Tickner 25 Kuldeep Yadav run out (Latham/Ferguson) 3 Umran Malik not out 2
Extras: (B-5, LB-1, W-6) 12
Total: (For 9 wickets in 50 overs) 385
Fall of wickets: 1-212, 2-230, 3-268, 4-284, 5-293, 6-313, 7-367, 8-379, 9-385
Bowling: Jacob Duffy 10-0-100-3, Lockie Ferguson 10-1-53-0, Blair Tickner 10-0-76-3, Mitchell Santner 10-0-58-0, Daryl Mitchell 4-0-41-0, Michael Bracewell 6-0-51-1.
Playing XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umran Malik.
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner.
