Image Credit: BCCI/ Twitter

India defeated New Zealand by 12 runs to grab a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series thanks in large part to a magnificent maiden double century from Shubman Gill.

In a high-scoring match, India batted first and amassed 349/8 as Shubman Gill become the fifth player in ODI history to reach 200. At 131/6 in the 29th over, the Kiwis seemed doomed to failure in the chase. With 162 runs added for the seventh wicket, Bracewell and Mitchell Santner staged a brilliant comeback but fell 12 runs short of the target.

India Vs New Zealand- 1st ODI

Gill and Rohit Sharma’s 60-run partnership for the first wicket gave India a strong start in Hyderabad. The partnership was ended when the Indian skipper botched a strong hit and was caught out by Blair Tickner at mid-on. Ishan Kishan was quickly dismissed by Ferguson and the dangerous Virat Kohli was bowled by Santner bowled on eight runs.

At one end, New Zealand continued to strike, but they also wasted three golden chances to dismiss Gill, who made them pay dearly. As he sprinted down to Bracewell’s ball and grabbed an edge, the Indian opener might have been out for the first time at 45. The keeper-captain Latham, though, failed to stump the ball and dropped the catch as well.

The 23-year-old batsman maintained his incredible run, hitting 19 fours and nine sixes. The youngest ever Indian to strike a double hundred in ODIs, opener Shubman Gill led the way with an incredible 208-run inning. Additionally, this double-century marks his second straight three-figure ODI total, having scored 116 against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. With this huge 200-run inning, Gill became the seventh player to record a double century in an ODI and the second-fastest player to 1,000 ODI runs.

Bracewell anchored the Kiwis really close to the target

New Zealand got off to a bad start when chasing 350. Mohammed Siraj dismissed Devon Conway (10) and Shardul Thakur put an end to Finn Allen’s dangerous 40-minute stint at the crease. With a three-wicket haul against Sri Lanka, Kuldeep Yadav regained his mojo, and he struck right away against the Kiwis as well. With a brilliant delivery, he first castled Henry Nicholls, getting through the batter’s defence to crash into the off-stump.

The wrist-spinner then cornered Daryl Mitchell to pick his second wicket. At 131 for the loss of six wickets in a challenging chase, New Zealand was in trouble when Bracewell and Santer teamed together to put an end to India’s momentum. Bracewell went completely berserk, hitting 12 fours and 10 sixes. Santner proved to be a reliable partner for him, as he also hit seven fours and a six. Bracewell got things going by smashing two fours in a row in a single over from Mohammed Shami, and he never looked back as he sped to fifty in only 31 balls.

The Kiwis reached 247/6 at the end of the 40th over thanks to the southpaw’s relentless onslaught on the Indian spinners.  The game remained close until Shardul Thakur (2/54) pinned the left-handed batter in front of the stumps when New Zealand required 13 runs off five balls.

Highest Individual Scores in ODI

  • 264 – Rohit Sharma vs Sri Lanka, 2014
  • 237* – Martin Guptill vs West Indies, 2015
  • 219 –Virender Sehwag vs West Indies, 2011
  • 215 – Chris Gayle vs Zimbabwe, 2015
  • 210*- Fakhar Zaman vs Zimbabwe, 2018
  • 210 – Ishan Kishan vs Bangladesh, 2022
  • 209- Rohit Sharma vs Australia, 2013
  • 208*- Rohit Sharma vs Sri Lanka, 2017
  • 208 – Shubman Gill vs New Zealand, 2023
  • 200* – Sachin Tendulkar vs South Africa, 2010