Picture Credit: Twitter
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma left everyone in splits
when he tried to poke fun at Ishan Kishan after the 1st ODI against New Zealand on January 18 (Wednesday), in Hyderabad. Notably, Shubman
Gill became the latest Indian batter to join the 200-run club in ODIs as he
smashed a brilliant 208 on Wednesday evening.
The 23-year-old produced his best knock ever as he achieved the milestone in just 149 deliveries, with the help of nine sixes and nineteen boundaries. Gill is the youngest cricketer to score a double century in ODIs; breaking Ishan Kishan’s record who achieved the milestone last month at the age of 24. In the post match interaction, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan welcomed Gill in the double centurion club and during this the skipper also teased his Mumbai Indians teammate Ishan Kishan by asking him why he didn’t play in three matches despite scoring 200-plus runs.
“Ishan yaar, aapne 200 banake teen match nahi khela yaar?," Rohit inquired to which Ishan responded reminding the senior pro that he is the captain. “Bhaiya captain toh aap ho," Ishan said to which all the three batters were left laughing.
Notably, Ishan made his maiden ODI double century as an opening batter last month, but after Rohit’s return, he had to vacate the spot and has been warming the bench in ODIs. He had to miss three matches against Sri Lanka, last week and got the chance to bat at number 4 against New Zealand in KL Rahul’s absence on Wednesday.
During the conversation, Ishan admitted that he
enjoys batting at number 4. Notably, Rohit Sharma holds the record for scoring
the highest individual score in ODIs (264) along with being the only batter to
hit double centuries three times. Talking about the match, Gill’s heroics
propelled India’s score to 349/8 in 50 overs. While India was hoping to
register a comfortable victory after putting up such a mammoth total on the board,
New Zealand all-rounder Michael Bracewell turned the game on its head with
his blitz knock of 140 off 78.
New Zealand needed just 20 runs in the last six balls of the match, and Bracewell closed the gap with a spectacular maximum on the very first ball. But Shardul Thakur held his nerves and nailed the leg stump yorker to perfection, to get Bracewell LBW on the second delivery. Team India clinched the opening game of the series with 12 runs.