Young opener Shubman Gill scored a sublime double-century as India registered a thrilling 12-run win over New Zealand in the first ODI at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Gill laid the foundation of a victory with a 208-run knock which helped India post a mammoth 349/8 in 50 overs. In reply, Michael Bracewell scored a sensational century to keep New Zealand’s hopes alive for the majority of the chase but Mohammed Siraj once again riot with the ball and claimed 4 wickets to restrict New Zealand to 337 in 49.2 overs.
Siraj, who was playing his first ODI on home ground, claimed wickets at crucial junctures of the game to help India take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Bracewell fought hard for the visitors till the final over as he remained unbeaten on 140 off 78 balls which was laced with 10 sixes and 12 fours. He shared a massive 162-run stand for the seventh wicket alongside Mitchell Santner to put India on the backfoot but Siraj in his 10th over claimed a couple of wickets to break the Kiwis’ rhythm a bit. Santner was dismissed for 57 which shifted the momentum back in India’s favour.
India vs New Zealand 1st ODI Highlights
New Zealand needed 24 runs off the last two overs but India managed to pull off a victory as Bracewell’s valiant effort went in vain. Hardik Pandya in the penultimate over just gave four runs off the over and claimed the wicket of Lockie Ferguson.
Shardul Thakur was assigned to bowl the final over and he got hit for a six on the first ball itself and he followed it up with a wide. Under massive pressure, Shardul bowled a yorker to trap Bracewell in front of the wicket as India won the match by 12 runs.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma won the toss on Wednesday and elected to bat first against confident New Zealand, who recently beat Pakistan 2-1, in the first match of the series.
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Rohit shared a solid 60-run stand alongside Gill to give India a solid start. New Zealand bounced back with wickets of Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ishan Kishan in quick succession. However, Shubman stood tall as the Kiwis looked clueless against his class.
Gill joined an elusive list of players on Wednesday by smashing a sensational double century. The talented young opener has been in sensational form in recent times and he took it a notch higher with a 208-run knock to help India post a mammoth 349/8 on the scoreboard. Gill reached his first fifty in 52 balls, before reaching his century off 87 balls. He then went from 100 to 150 in 35 balls, and the jump from 150 to 200 happened in just 23 balls, with his overall strike rate at 139.6, taking India to nearly reaching 350. His magnificent knock was laced with 19 fours and 9 sixes.
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