Shubman Gill (126 n.o., 63b, 12x4, 7x6) lit the stage with a sparkling knock to power India to a 168-run win over New Zealand in the third T20I here on Wednesday. India, which recorded its largest T20I win (in runs), wrapped up the three-match leg 2-1.
Gill more than made up for failures in the previous two outings. The opener was in full flow, going to on record the highest T20I individual score by an Indian. The previous mark was set by Virat Kohli, who made an unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan at Dubai last year.
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Gill started cautiously, moving to 61 off 41 balls. He got moving in the 16th over, whipping debutant left-arm seamer Ben Lister for two sixes over deep mid-wicket. In the next over, Gill hammered Blair Tickner for two more sixes.
A clean drive past mid-off brought Gill his first T20I century, and he celebrated with a bow to the crowd. Gill, who racked up 208 and 112 against the same opponent in the preceding ODI matches, once again took the match away from the Kiwis.
Gill’s pyrotechnics took India to a mammoth 234 for four - the highest ever T20I team total at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
One-drop Rahul Tripathi shifted the early momentum India’s way with an entertaining 22-ball 44. Tripathi showed great self-belief when he paddle-scooped a 148 kmph rocket from Lockie Ferguson for six over the deep fine-leg fielder. The 31-year-old Maharashtra batter was good against spin as well, striking left-arm tweaker Mitchell Santner was a clean straight maximum.
Captain Hardik Pandya (30, 17b, 4x4, 1x6) sat back and enjoyed Gill’s exploits in a 103-run fourth-wicket stand.
The New Zealand chase fell apart by the fifth over. The visitor crumbled to 21 for five in 4.3 overs, with fast bowlers Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik getting among the wickets. Suryakumar Yadav pulled off two blinders at slip, leaping high like a football goalkeeper.
Pandya finished with figures of four for 16, while Malik, Arshdeep and Shivam Mavi took two scalps each.
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