Shubman Gill has made history with a calm and unbeaten 101 as India began their ICC Champions Trophy campaign with a six-wicket win over Bangladesh on Thursday. His steady batting helped India chase a challenging target of 229 runs on a difficult pitch, and the team reached the target with 21 balls remaining.
The 25-year-old vice-captain continued his good run by scoring his eighth ODI hundred in just 51 matches. This makes him the fastest Indian to reach eight hundreds, beating the previous record of Shikhar Dhawan (57 innings). Virat Kohli (68 innings), Gautam Gambhir (98 innings), and Sachin Tendulkar (111 innings) follow behind.
“Definitely one of my most satisfying innings, and my first century in an ICC event,” Gill said after receiving the Man of the Match award. He added that he was very happy with his performance.
Captain Rohit Sharma also praised Gill, saying, “Gill, we know the class that he has; it shouldn’t surprise anyone. It was good to see him bat till the end.”
Here is a quick comparison of the fewest innings needed to score eight ODI hundreds for India:
• Shubman Gill – 51 innings
• Shikhar Dhawan – 57 innings
• Virat Kohli – 68 innings
• Gautam Gambhir – 98 innings
• Sachin Tendulkar – 111 innings
Since his debut in 2019, Gill has played 51 ODIs and scored 2,688 runs at an average of 62.51, with a strike rate of 100.78. Along with his eight centuries, he has also made 15 half-centuries, showing that he is one of India’s most promising batsmen.
Interestingly, his century against Bangladesh was his slowest in ODIs, taking 125 balls to reach 100 runs. However, his careful approach was very important in helping India win on a tough pitch.
After recently winning the Player of the Series award in India’s 3-0 win over England, where he scored 259 runs in total, Gill’s hot form looks very promising for India as they chase more success in the Champions Trophy.
