When Shubman Gill scored an unbeaten 126 against New Zealand in the third T20I in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, he became India’s highest individual scorer in T20Is.
Gill beat Virat Kohli’s 122 against Afghanistan in the 2022 Asia Cup and Rohit Sharma’s 117 against Sri Lanka in 2017 with his score.
After the hosts had lost Ishan Kishan early, the innings, which featured 12 fours and seven sixes, helped India stay in the game.
In the subsequent over, Gill, who was in good form, hit two boundaries off Lockie Ferguson.
Whether it was pick-up hits, drives, or pulls to continue his assault, Gill displayed his ominous best. India reached 44 for 1 when he hit Blair Tickner with three fours in the fifth over.
The young Rahul Tripathi, who took 44 off 22 balls but has yet to impress in the series, then struck Ferguson for a boundary and a six in consecutive balls to keep the pace going.
The left-arm spinner was lofted for a straight six after Tripathi pulled Santner over short-fine leg.
For his third six of the innings, Tripathi dispatched Ish Sodhi over extra cover. However, in an effort to score more runs, he was run out at deep square leg by Ferguson.
Gill scored his first T20I fifty with a single off Santner, taking 35 deliveries.
Suryakumar Yadav (24 off 13) showed glimpses of his class while Gill held one end. However, in the 13th over, the batter mistimed his shot and was brilliantly caught by Ferguson at mid-off.
