I Would Say Virat Bhai Because I Have Learnt A Lot From Him As A Batter

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Shubman Gill was asked the tricky question of choosing between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli in a video interview.

Shubman Gill’s recent form augurs well for the Indian cricket team with the ODI World Cup 2023 at home in a few months’ time. The young opener hit his fourth ODI ton in 21 matches on Tuesday when he scored 112 against New Zealand in Indore.

Shubman Gill Has Learnt A Lot From Batter Virat Kohli

He is averaging 73.76 in the 50-over format currently. As Shubman Gill touched the 112-run mark in the match at Indore, he matched Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s record of scoring the joint-most runs (360) in a three-match ODI series. Shubman Gill also has a ton in the Test format.

In a video interview that was aired on Star Sports on Tuesday, Shubman Gill was asked the tricky question of choosing between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.

The 23-year-old Shubman replied: “I think Virat Bhai because…Sachin sir is the reason why I started playing cricket because my dad was his huge fan. When he retired, I was too young to understand cricket. By the time I started to understand cricket a little more, I would say Virat bhai because I have learnt a lot from him as a batter.”

Babar Azam and Virat Kohli (Image Credit: Twitter)

Shubman Gill has had a terrific start to his ODI career, racking up 1254 runs in 21 matches at an average of 73.76 and a strike rate of 109.80. The youngster completed 1000 ODI runs earlier in the series in his 19th ODI innings, becoming the fastest Indian and the second-fastest global to the landmark.

Rohit Sharma Scored His 1st ODI Century In 3 Years

Talking about the third ODI, Rohit Sharma scored his first ODI century in three years while Shubman Gill continued his explosive run to power India to 385 for nine. The two put up a belligerent 212-run opening stand as Rohit Sharma (101 off 85 balls) got to the three-figure mark for the first time since January 2020. Shubman Gill (112 off 78) got his fourth ODI hundred.

Rahul Dravid joked on the eve of the match that bowlers don’t want to bowl as soon as they land in Indore because of the batter-friendly conditions. The batting great had a point. Even during the chase, New Zealand batters made merry and Devon Conway scored a ton.

Rohit Sharma’s century, followed by his opening partner Shubman Gill‘s hundred and cameos from Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur helped India get to a strong score of 385 runs, which in the end proved to be enough for the Men in Blue to win the Indore ODI.

In reply, New Zealand were all out for 295 in 41.2 overs with Devon Conway scoring a 100-ball 138. While skipper Rohit Sharma struck 101 off 85 balls, the young Shubman Gill blazed away to a 78-ball 112, after the visitors asked India to bat at the Holkar Cricket Stadium. Virat Kohli chipped in with 36 off 27 balls after the opening duo added 212 runs in 26.1 overs. Later, Hardik Pandya smashed a 38-ball 54 to power India.

Brief scores: India: 385 for 9 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 101, Shubman Gill 112, Hardik Pandya 54). beat New Zealand: 295 all out in 41.2 overs (Devon Conway 138; Shardul Thakur 3/45, Kuldeep Yadav 3/62) by 90 runs.

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