Since the start of 2023, Shubman Gill has scored 1900 runs in 35 innings at an average of 61.29. In this period, only Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka has a better tally of runs – 25 more but in 10 more innings (1925 in 45). Shubman Gill, who has been around the Indian team setup since 2019, has made a name for himself as one of the more technically gifted cricketers.
In ODIs, Shubhman Gill enhanced that with an aspect that has eluded him in Tests – consistent runs. Cracking a format as tough as Tests might need more time but a Test average of 35.06 in 32 outings doesn’t do justice to the potential and skill he brings to the table. It has made Shubman Gill dispensable in the format, including during the recent tour of Australia, but in ODIs there’s a truckload of trust.
England’s miserable tour came to an end following another lopsided win for the home side as India hammered the visitors in the final ODI in Ahmedabad. India’s massive win was headlined by Shubman Gill’s seventh ton which came in his 50th ODI appearance for India and there were also contributions from the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. In reply, England’s chase fizzled out around the halfway mark as they lost by a massive margin of 142 runs.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : This one is right in the centre, 66m to the left and right and 74m straight down the ground. This is the same pitch used for the World Cup final, black soil pitch. It played slower in the first half and better for batting in the second half. The hessian has just come off so it’s a bit damp but there is still time left before play starts it should dry out.
There are some cracks that could keep the bowlers interested. Looks like a bowl first wicket. One of those pitch where if a batter gets in he can score but it might not be easy for the new comer. Dew is a concern, there was a lot of dew last night – reckons Deep Dasgupta and Graeme Swann.
Toss : England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss for the third time in the series and chose to bowl with one change as Tom Banton comes in for Jamie Overton. Team India skipper Rohit Sharma who also wanted to bat first once in the series with three changes in the playing XI bringing in Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar for Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakravarthy.
Shubman Gill’s blistering century, and Kohli, Shreyas fifties power India to 356 in 50 overs
Both teams arrived in Ahmedabad looking to use this last ODI before the Champions Trophy to finetune; or in England’s case, tune outright. India’s trio of changes were as much about experimentation as Jos Buttler’s decision to bowl first after England had batted in the first innings in Nagpur and Cuttack.
Shubman Gill relished the opportunity to go first this time. After 87 and 60 in the first two matches, he was pristine throughout his jaunt to three figures, and broke a “slump” of 14 innings without a century.
He had handy allies during his stay, with Virat Kohli’s 52 and Shreyas Iyer’s breezy 78 off 64 balls contributing to stands of 116 and 104, respectively. A 29-ball 40 from KL Rahul, accompanied by cameos lower down the order, lifted India to their highest score at this venue, and joint third-highest against England.
There’s an argument to say the best it ever got for England on Wednesday was when Mark Wood pocketed Rohit Sharma with his first delivery of the match. Fresh from a devastating 32nd ODI century, Rohit lasted just two balls as Wood angled one into off stump that nipped off the surface, taking the edge through to a tumbling Phil Salt.
Earlier in the day, India showcased their batting might to breach 350 after being sent into bat. Rohit Sharma couldn’t replicate his Cuttack heroics and was sent packing very early in the innings but Gill managed to get off to a good start yet again.
Virat Kohli, under a bit of pressure, found some much-needed rhythm as well. India made 52/1 in the first powerplay and showed no signs of slowing down with the field starting to spread. Root was treated with disdain by both batters, particularly Kohli who hit him for four boundaries spread across two overs and Shubman Gill sent Atkinson out of the attack with a four and a six.
Shubman Gill and Kohli emerged from the powerplay with intent, which was only curbed when Rashid was introduced in the 15th over. The leg spinner’s removal of Kohli, after the 36-year-old ticked off a 123rd fifty-plus ODI score in 50 deliveries, spoke of what was to come. Dip brought the right-hander forward, and grip and rip provided another nick for Salt.
Shreyas arrived and immediately settled into a quick groove, a century stand with Gill brought up in 85 deliveries, split evenly between the two. By then, Shubman Gill had crisply struck Wood through midwicket to bring up his century from 95 balls.
The two batters then hit Livingstone for a six each before bringing up their fifties. Against the run of play though, Adil Rashid managed to induce the outside edge of Kohli but England’s hopes of halting the flow of runs proved to be futile. Shreyas Iyer made a positive start to his innings yet again and his boundary-spree saw him race to 40 off just 30 at one point.
Shubman Gill, who was continuing to make merry at the other end, brought up yet another century at his favorite venue but Rashid gave England a timely strike by getting rid of the opener just when he was looking to cut loose.
Shubman Gill freed himself up a little more after the milestone, lifting Rashid down the ground for six, but was bowled by the same bowler attempting an ungainly hack to a straight delivery. And Rashid was in the act again when Shreyas, looking to launch after reaching a half-century from 43 deliveries, lazily tickled down the leg side for another fine take from Salt.
Hardik Pandya was bowled with a pristine leggie, though only after striking Rashid for consecutive sixes down the ground. Having extended his arms into the stroke, the allrounder played it safe to see out the 41st over, but was undone by a slower delivery that again spun sharply from a middle-and-leg line, this time beyond the bat, and into the middle-and-off bail. India were eventually bowled out, losing three wickets for three runs off the last seven deliveries of the innings.
The leg spinner had a very good outing as he also dismissed a well-set Shreyas for 78 before removing Hardik off the final ball of his spell. India would have still fancied their chances of touching 375 given the platform that was laid but Hardik’s wicket, which was soon followed by Axar’s dismissal, forced them to retreat a touch.
KL Rahul, walking out to bat at No.5 this time, chipped in with some timely boundaries to make 40 off just 29 balls before getting trapped lbw by an excellent yorker from Saqib Mahmood. That helped England apply the squeeze and concede only 22 runs in the last three overs, which simply didn’t matter in the end anyway.
Indian bowler’s bowled in tandem to skittle England for a huge 142 runs win the 3rd ODI
For what it’s worth, England were up with the required rate of 7.14 for a good chunk of the chase. The problem was the regular ticking of the wicket column as the last eight fell for just 88 runs.
Ben Duckett, having left the field in the first innings nursing a thigh injury, raced out of the blocks with four fours against both Harshit Rana and Arshdeep. Those off the former came in successive deliveries, but the left-armer had the last word, flummoxing Duckett for 34 with a knuckle ball that was skewed high to Rohit at mid-off.
With a daunting target of 357 ahead of them, England came out all guns blazing on expected lines. Ben Duckett in particular was severe against India’s new ball bowlers as he hit four boundaries against Harshit Rana before finding the fence on four successive occasions against Arshdeep Singh. As a result of this onslaught, England raced to 60/0 in just six overs, setting themselves up for the tall chase. However, things quickly turned when Duckett completely mistimed a knuckleball from Arshdeep to get caught for 34.
A start of 60 in 6.2 overs had given England the framework of platform, though Salt’s cuffing of an Arshdeep slower ball to backward point meant both openers did not emerge from the first ten overs. Joe Root and Tom Banton were able to thatch together a partnership, the latter making his first international appearance in just over a year as he replaced Jamie Overton in the XI.
Fresh from leading the ILT20 run charts for MI Emirates, Banton showcased his impressive strokeplay with reverse-swept sixes off both Washington and Axar Patel. He enjoyed two bits of good fortune, avoiding a stumping after charging and edging Washington on 7, then surviving a run-out on 24 as Axar, fielding at point, missed his overarm throw from five yards when an underarm would have sufficed.
Kuldeep was the one to prize Banton out, caught behind off a wrong ‘un – the first of England’s last five recognized batters to fall for just 48 runs. Root was yorked by Axar, then Rana returned for a second spell to pick up Buttler and Harry Brook, both playing on.
Tom Banton, getting an opportunity at No.3, started off with a switch-hit six against Washington Sundar but at the other end, another slower delivery from Arshdeep consumed Phil Salt. While England had 84 runs in the first nine overs, the two wickets did cause a dent. Joe Root and Banton consolidated for a brief period with the latter employing the switch hit once again for another six, this time off Axar Patel. However, Kuldeep Yadav managed to send Banton back to the pavilion with a googly and Root was castled by Axar soon after.
A torturous 23-ball stay for Liam Livingstone came to an end as he ran past a delivery from Washington, before Pandya flattened Rashid’s off stump via the batter’s misjudged pull. Lusty blows from Wood and Atkinson were barely streaks of silver in the mushroom cloud of this match the and white-ball tour as a whole, as England eventually folded with all of 94 balls left in their innings.
If those two wickets weren’t enough, Rana came back to get the big wicket of Jos Buttler, who chopped one onto his stumps to pretty much signal the end. It was a case of rinse and repeat as Harry Brook endured the same fate against the same bowler in his next over.
Expensive on the night, Washington managed to open his account by getting Liam Livingstone stumped and Hardik Pandya added a couple of lower order wickets which ensured at least one scalp for every single Indian bowler. If not for a few lusty blows from Gus Atkinson, England wouldn’t have breached even 200.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Rohit Sharma the winning Indian skipper said : Very very pleasing (with the way the series went). We knew there will be challenges that we could face. I mean there is nothing I could have done about that (the ball that got rid of him today). Credit to the bowler and the bowler is there to get you out and you are there as a batter to challenge that. Just nicked the ball, second ball I was facing and couldn’t have done anything about that.
I don’t see there was anything wrong we did this series. Obviously there are certain things we are looking at (to improve) and I am not going to stand here and explain those. It is our job as well to keep some consistency within the squad and the communication is clear.
Obviously any champion team wants to get better every game and move forward from there. Very happy with the score (at the break). There is a bit of freedom in the squad to go out there and play the way you want. The World Cup was a perfect example of that and we want to continue to do that. There will be times it will not fall in place but that’s okay.
Jos Buttler the losing skipper said : It went in similar fashion to the whole tour (talking about the batting). We were outplayed by a fantastic team. Our approach (with bat) is a right one, just that we haven’t executed well. They put a great score on the board. Shubman played a great innings. We got off to a great start again but familiar story again for us. Need to find a way to bat longer. We were up against a really good side that keeps challenging.
Shubman Gill is the Player of the Match for his 112 runs and Player of the series for 259 runs said : Definitely (asked if this is the best he’s batted in this format). I was feeling good. I think this was one of the better knocks in ODIs for me. The pitch was a bit tricky at the start so it’s satisfying.
There was a bit for the fast bowlers. It was seaming, so the chat (with Virat) was to rotate strike and not lose wickets in powerplay, build on the momentum and take it from there. (On his approach while batting) You are just reacting to what is coming to you without thinking too much.
If India’s four-wicket wins against England in the first and second ODI didn’t reflect the gulf between the two sides, the 142-run victory in the third at the Narendra Modi Stadium made up for it. As does the final series score of 3-0.
The margin owed much to Shubman Gill’s 112 on his 50th appearance in the format, a seventh century helping India to 356. But for Adil Rashid’s 4 for 64, his career-best figures in India, it could have been a whole lot more.
The gulf on the night would have been wider had Gus Atkinson not thrashed 38 at the end, having faced just 19 deliveries. But that only served to highlight England’s grim batting effort as the seamer finished as team’s joint-top scorer with Tom Banton, who arrived into the country on Monday as an injury replacement for Jacob Bethell. England finish this limited overs tour having lost seven matches out of eight, with this defeat making it 16 losses in 23 ODIs since the 2023 World Cup.
The tourists were actually going steady in pursuit of their 357-run target, reaching 126 for 2 at the end of the 18th over. On cue, the middle order caved in on itself once more, collapsing to 175 for 8 midway through the 31st over. This time, with Varun Chakravarthy (suffering from a sore calf), Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami rested, the trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Arshdeep Singh had their share of the feast.
Batting second or batting first didn’t matter, India have outplayed England yet again and this time by a whopping 142 runs to make it 3-0. England have not just lost, they have been really poor with bat, ball and strategy. Today they did things right for a fair bit. They won the toss and rightly bowled with history heavily favoring chasing teams here. They started well with the ball but couldn’t contain Gill and Virat after the powerplay.
Rashid was a lone warrior while the most went the distance. They conceded a 350+ total but with their audacious ability with the bat, no total was safe at this venue. An injured Duckett was enough to get them off to a flier and Salt flayed the bat around like he usually does. It was yet another great start from the openers, but it was yet another collapse in the middle overs.
Banton was a refreshing sight although it was short-lived. Few of them got starts but didn’t carry on. Atkinson had a bit of fun with the bat to stretch it past 200. Losing 7 wickets for just 67 runs is never going to help!
India ticked boxes with Rohit and Virat getting runs. Shubman Gill was solid and showed he’s at great ease in this format. Shreyas grabbed his chance big time with two fifties in 3 games and his lowest score was 44. Didn’t let England exploit his short ball weakness, which is a good sign. Axar doing great with the bat is a big plus. KL showed his mettle again and no need of any doubts about him with the gloves. Hardik has always been there with bat and ball.
Jadeja was outstanding as the lead-spinner. India tried Varun Chakravarthy and got positives from that angle as well. Harshit Rana has been really refreshing. He might leak runs with the new ball but he’s given mega comebacks after his first spell and gives breakthroughs in the middle-overs, which is very crucial. Shami and Kuldeep are easing their way back from injuries and looked comfortable. Arshdeep showed his potency yet again. So overall, India are going to the Champions Trophy with the squad in a good stead.
The think-tank had handed this responsibility to Shubman Gill on the tour of Sri Lanka last July – the first under head coach Gambhir. It was also the first series in more than a year where Shubman Gill underperformed (57 runs in three ODIs).
The retention of faith in him as vice-captain in a Champions Trophy year is also crucial, putting him in any possible succession plans that could be set in motion in the near future as the incumbent skipper Rohit – who retired from T20Is last year – turns 38 in April. For his part, Shubman Gill shrugged off the rare dip in the midst of his extended purple patch and continued to bring a sense of calm and consistency from one end while Rohit and Kohli found their way back among runs.
So both teams are done with the games before Champions Trophy. Lots to ponder about for England. The openers are doing their job but the middle-order batting has to definitely improve. And they will hope Ben Duckett’s injury isn’t serious because he is batting so well. They have rested their bowlers but the bowling, barring Adil Rashid, has a lot of answering to do. Can they reset everything and become a force to reckon with like before.
It leaves head coach Brendon McCullum with a job on his hands to lift his squad as they head to Pakistan for their Champions Trophy opener against Australia on February 22. India begin their campaign two days earlier against Bangladesh in Dubai in far better shape, having shown why they are the outright favourites for a second ICC trophy in the space of a year.