Shubman Gill was the top scorer for India in the first ODI against England on Thursday, February 6 at Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur. Chasing a 249-run target, the right-hander 25-year-old batted at No. 3 and scored a knock of 87 off 96 balls, including 14 boundaries. His match-winning performance with the bat helped him win the Player of the Match award. As India’s ODI vice-captain, Gill will aim to continue his excellent form in the second ODI, scheduled for Sunday, February 9, at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
In the upcoming match, Gill, who has made 2415 runs in 48 ODIs, can create history. If he scores at least 85 runs, he will be the first batter in the world to reach 2500 runs in ODIs in fewer than 50 matches.
Currently, the record for the fastest to 2500 ODI runs is held by former South African cricketer Hashim Amla, who achieved the milestone in 53 matches for the Proteas.
Since he made his ODI debut against New Zealand in Hamilton on January 31, 2019, Gill played 48 ODIs, including one double-century, five hundred plus and 14 fifty-plus. He is the only batter in the history of ODIs to achieve 20 fifty-plus scores within 50 innings.
Not only Gill, but Shreyas Iyer also gets a chance to complete 2500 runs in One-Day Internationals for India. The 30-year-old has scored 2480 runs in 58 innings with 63 matches at an average of 47.69. Iyer showed a quick knock by scoring 59 runs off just 36 balls at the start of the first ODI in Nagpur.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are also close to achieving personal milestones in the second ODI. Kohli will become the fastest player to reach 14,000 ODI runs if he scores at least 94 runs. Rohit needs 22 runs to surpass Rahul Dravid on the list of highest run-scorers in ODIs.
