Shubman Gill, a rising star for India, silenced his detractors in the third and final T20I of the series against New Zealand with an astonishing unbeaten 126-run knock. Many former cricketers and fans thought Gill needed to step back and concentrate on ODIs and Tests after a run of poor performances in the format; however, the 23-year-old finally paid back captain Hardik Pandya and the team management’s faith as he surpassed Virat Kohli to become India’s highest scorer in an innings in T20I.
It didn’t come as a surprise when the former Indian skipper posted an Instagram story saying that Gill would continue Kohli’s batting legacy in the Indian side because that is a commonly held belief. Virat Kohli uploaded a photo of himself and Gill along with an amazing five-word statement after scoring a century in the third T20I. “Sitaara. “The future is here,” declared Kohli.
The Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill bond is special! pic.twitter.com/o0chu3FsJG
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 2, 2023
With his century against New Zealand, Gill has now scored 100 runs in each of the game’s three formats, making him the second-youngest batter in the game’s history to accomplish the feat. Ahmed Shahzad of Pakistan now holds the record after reaching the three-figure threshold in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is at the age of 22 years and 127 days.
Gill’s T20I debut, incidentally, came in the team’s opening match of the year against Sri Lanka in January. Prior to his century, Gill had only scored 76 runs in five games, and there had been a lot of pressure on the kid to keep his spot in the lineup, especially with the presence of Prithvi Shaw, another young opener.
When Team India resumes to action on February 9 against Australia, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill will be hoping to contribute similarly in the longest format. The two have formed a lot of successful partnerships in ODIs.
