Shortly after the first power play ended, the Kiwis lost half their team, but still managed to give the host team a low target of 109 runs. The opening stand between captain Rohit Sharma and youngster Shubman Gill was once again strong, giving the men in blue a glorious start.
Despite Rohit’s swift release half a century later, the hunt went smoothly thanks to Gill’s 40 of 53 undefeated deliveries. Former Indian opener and batting icon Sunil Gavaskar is a huge admirer of Gill’s batting technique, and in the post-game chat he gave the 23-year-old Gill a new nickname.
Smoothman Gil, I’ve given you a new nickname. Don’t worry about it, Sunil Gavaskar said in an interview. I don’t mind at all.
What would Gil say to someone as a senior in the Indian cricket fraternity, respected like Gavaskar?
Gavaskar definitely had an incredible moment behind the mic. His honesty in giving feedback to many players is refreshing. However, his affection for the Maharashtra player is sometimes a little too obvious. However, calling Shubman Smoothman is not among his top ten highlights as a commentator.
Gavaskar may be really proud of his creativity now, but in a few years you’ll be sick of his memory. After scoring a spectacular innings in the series opener against the Kiwis, the 23-year-old hitting prodigy became the youngest player in the ODI to reach the 200-run milestone.
He broke the previous records of Sikar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, the fastest Indians in 1000 ODI runs, during a record-breaking performance. He also achieved his 1000 runs milestone, the most in ODI history.
The next Red Ball series between India and Australia, who currently lead the World Test Championship points standings, will start on 9 February.
