Gill, Rohit tons help India complete series whitewash with 90-run win over NZ in 3rd ODI, reclaim No. 1 rank; Conway century goes in vain
INDORE: On Monday morning, some of the Indian players visited the Mahakaleshwar temple in nearby Ujjain to pray for Rishabh Pant's fast recovery. Perhaps they should also have prayed for some mercy for the Kiwi bowlers, who have been found wanting on this tour.
India's openers were simply on fire, with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill slamming superb centuries to pulverize a clueless New Zealand attack on a belter at the Holkar Stadium in the third ODI on Tuesday.
Their 212-run opening stand in just 157 balls was India's highest partnership for the first wicket against the Kiwis in ODIs. With Rohit and Gill destroying the bowling after being put in to bat, at one point it even seemed India could scale 'Mount 500' for the first time in ODIs.
A mini-collapse, though, slowed them down, before a typically belligerent half-century by the explosive Hardik Pandya (54; 38b, 3x4, 3x6), and his 54-run alliance in 34 balls for the seventh wicket with Shardul Thakur (25 off 17 balls), took India to 385/9.
1/10:Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill star as India go top of ODI rankings with series win over NZ
2/10:Attacking centuries by Rohit and Gill
Skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill hit attacking centuries to help India sweep the one-day international series against New Zealand with a 90-run victory in the third and final ODI on Tuesday.<br /><br />AFP
3/10:Rohit-Gill put on 212 for the opening wicket
Rohit (101) and Gill (112) put on 212 for the opening wicket in Indore to guide the hosts to 385-9 after being invited to bat first in Indore.<br /><br />AFP
4/10:Conway's 138 goes in vain
In reply, Devon Conway's 138 was in vain as India bowled out New Zealand for 295 in 41.2 overs for their second successive 3-0 whitewash and went top of the ODI rankings.<br /><br />ANI
5/10:Second consecutive clean sweep
It was Team India's second consecutive clean sweep, having beaten Sri Lanka last week.<br /><br />TOI Sports
6/10:Rohit ends century drought
Rohit, who recorded his first ODI century since January 2020, and Gill stood out in the highest opening partnership by any team against the Kiwis in the 50-over format, surpassing the 201-run stand of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in 2009.<br /><br />TOI Sports
7/10:Hardik Pandya slams breezy fifty
New Zealand's bowlers hit back after the pair's departure as India slipped to 293-5 before Hardik Pandya took charge, boosting the total with a 38-ball 54.<br /><br />AFP
8/10:Gill smashes Ferguson for 22 runs in an over
It all started with Gill smashing Lockie Ferguson for four fours and a six in a 22-run eighth over and Rohit joined the party with a few big hits over the fence.<br /><br />AFP
9/10:Gill records third 100-plus score in last four ODI innings
Gill recorded his third 100-plus score in his last four ODI innings, taking off his helmet and basking in applause from the stands when he reached the milestone.<br /><br /><br />AFP
10/10:India lose centurions Rohit and Gill quickly after fine knocks
Michael Bracewell bowled Rohit and Blair Tickner sent back Gill in the next over and India soon lost regular wickets, despite a brisk 36 from Virat Kohli.<br /><br /><br />AFPShowing why he is rated among the top openers in world cricket, Devon Conway then cracked a brilliant 138, getting to three figures off just 71 balls. But India, spearheaded by a Shardul Thakur burst (3/45 in 6 overs), managed to bowl out New Zealand for 295 in 41. 2 overs.
Having won all the six ODIs it has played at this venue, India can claim that the Holkar Stadium, a high-scoring venue, is its fortress.
The convincing 90-run victory helped India regain the No. 1 ranking in ODIs as the hosts pulled off a 3-0 clean sweep. The T20I leg begins in Ranchi on Friday.
With India resting regular pacers Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, Pandya provided India with the perfect start when he had Finn Allen playing the ball on to his stumps for a two-ball duck. Conway, however, kept the Kiwis in the hunt, adding 106 off 87 balls for the second wicket with Henry Nicholls (42 off 40 balls), and then 78 for the third wicket with Daryl Mitchell (24).
1/9:Top 5 - The Best of Rohit Sharma & Shubman Gill's opening stands
2/9:212 run stand vs New Zealand (Indore)
Hands down the best opening partnership between the veteran Rohit Sharma and youngster Shubman Gill. <br /><br />AFP
3/9:212 run stand vs New Zealand (Indore)
The duo attacked the Kiwi bowlers in the 3rd ODI from the word go and went on to notch up a huge 212 run partnership. Rohit made 101 off 85, equalling Ricky Ponting on 30 ODI centuries, while Gill smashed a 78 ball 112 for his 4th ODI century in 21 ODI innings. With this Gill also equalled Babar Azam's record of most runs in a 3 match or less bilateral ODI series (360)<br /><br /><br /><br />AP
4/9:143 run stand vs Sri Lanka (Guwahati)
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill put on a blistering 143 run stand in the 1st ODI vs Sri Lanka in Guwahati recently. While Rohit smashed a 67 ball 83, with 3 sixes and 9 fours, Gill scored a 60 ball 70 with the help of 11 fours. India won the match by 67 runs and eventually the series 3-0.<br /><br />AFP
5/9:95 run stand vs Sri Lanka (Thiruvananthapuram)
In the same series, the third ODI in Trivandrum saw the new Indian ODI opening pair of Rohit and Gill put on 95 runs for the first wicket. Gill was the aggressor here, smashing a 97 ball 116, with 2 sixes and 14 fours. Rohit scored a 49 ball 42. India put on a mammoth 390/5 on the board and then wrapped up the SL innings for 73, winning the match by a record margin of 317 runs.<br /><br />PTI
6/9:60 run stand vs New Zealand (Hyderabad)
In the first ODI vs the No.1 ranked ODI team NZ , India started off brilliantly thanks again to the Rohit-Gill partnership, which added 60 runs for the 1st wicket. <br /><br />AFP
7/9:60 run stand vs New Zealand (Hyderabad)
Rohit was the early aggressor, but after Rohit’s dismissal, Gill was all-over the Kiwi bowlers. Gill went on to become the 5th Indian & 10th male cricketer overall to score a double-hundred in ODIs, making 208. India scored 349/8 and won the game by 12 runs<br /><br />AFP
8/9:72 run stand vs New Zealand (Raipur)
In a low-scoring 2nd ODI vs NZ where the Black Caps scored just 108 batting first, both Rohit and Gill came out all guns blazing again. <br /><br />ANI
9/9:72 run stand vs New Zealand (Raipur)
The Indian skipper scored 51 off 50, while Gill made 40 off 53. The opening pair added 72 runs off 86 balls. India eventually won the match by 8 wickets <br /><br /><br /><br />APThakur stepped up at the right time, ripping the heart out of New Zealand's innings when he dismissed Mitchell, skipper Tom Latham and Glen Phillips in quick succession. When Conway hit Umran Malik straight to Rohit at mid-wicket, and the dangerous Michael Bracewell (26) was stumped off a wide down the legside off Kuldeep Yadav (3-62), the game was done and dusted.
On the eve of the match, India coach Rahul Dravid had joked that as soon as they landed in Indore, all the bowlers shied away from bowling on the flat pitch here. The small ground adds to the bowlers' woes. India's innings, incidentally, included 33 fours and a record 19 sixes.
India's momentum was broken when Rohit, going for another big one, was bowled by Michael Bracewell, and Gill was caught at point while mistiming a cut off Blair Tickner. Ishan Kishan (17) sacrificed his wicket for Kohli and was run out, Virat Kohli (36 off 27 balls) spooned Duffy to mid-off, while Suryakumar Yadav (14) mistimed his trademark flick to long on to Duffy as well.
However, Pandya's strong forehands, resembling that of a tennis player, fetched him a few sixes. With Thakur chipping in with little cameo, India were back on the fast track.
It will take a while for the Kiwi bowlers to erase this brutal hammering. Playing just his third ODI, Jacob Duffy picked up three wickets but ended up conceding 100 in his 10 overs. Blair Tickner too took three but his 10 over quota went for 76.
GILL'S HIGHS
- Shubman Gill is now the first Indian batter to score 300-plus runs in a bilateral series of three matches. The previous such record was shared by Shikhar Dhawan (283 at 94.33 vs Sri Lanka in 2014-15) and Virat Kohli (283 at 141.50 vs Sri Lanka in 2022-23).
- With his third century in four consecutive innings (116 vs Sri Lanka and 208, 40* & 112 vs New Zealand), Gill has taken his run-aggregate to 476 at an average of 158.66 and strike rate of 126.55. Just two batters have scored more than him in four consecutive innings 490 (ave 163.33) by Virat Kohli in 2012 and 482 (ave 241.00) by Herschelle Gibbs in 2002.
- Gill is the first to get to the 500-run mark this year (567 runs at 113.40). No other batsman has managed even 350.
