‘Much Better Batsman than Babar Azam’: Netizens go Gaga as Shubman Smashes 2nd Consecutive ODI Ton

Just a couple of weeks back, the Indian team management made a bold decision before the Sri Lanka ODIs. They benched Ishan Kishan, who had scored a double hundred in Bangladesh, and brought back Shubman Gill, citing that the latter hasn’t done anything wrong to be benched and should be given a fair number of chances. The Punjab batter grabbed the opportunity with both hands, scoring a century in the final game of the series and followed it up with another one against New Zealand in the first ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday in Hyderabad. This was his 3^rd ODI century which came in the 19 innings of his career.

Once again Gill and Rohit Sharma gave a terrific start to India, adding 60 runs for the first wicket. However, the captain’s dismissal gave a little edge to the Kiwis. Following the quick dismissals of Virat Kohli and Ishan Kishan, the onus of anchoring the innings ultimately fell on the shoulders of the young Indian opener who stitched another fifty-plus stand with Suryakumar Yadav.

In the 30^th over, Gill reached 99 with a maximum off Mitchell Santner’s delivery and notched the triple figures with a single. The crowd at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi stadium gave the youngster a standing ovation while social media was flooded with appreciation posts.

Here’s how the netizens reacted:

Earlier, India captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and elected to bat first against New Zealand in the ODI series opener. After winning the toss, Rohit said fast-bowling all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur along with left-handed wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan come into the playing eleven. The trio come in place of an injured Shreyas Iyer as well as KL Rahul and Axar Patel not available due to personal reasons.

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