India and Australia are locking horns in the first ODI of the three-match series on Friday, September 22 at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali. Indian captain KL Rahul won the toss and invited Australia to bat first. The decision was vindicated by the bowlers as Australia were bundled out for 276 in the first innings courtesy of a sensational spell by Mohammed Shami (5/51).
In reply, India began their innings positively as openers Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad got their team off to a positive start. Gill in particular looked in fine nick as he played some gorgeous shots to get his innings underway. The 24-year-old played a magnificent pull shot in the fourth over of the innings which left everyone stunned.
On the second ball of the over bowled by Marcus Stoinis, the opening batter launched a short delivery over deep square leg for a six. Gill’s exquisite pull shot even left commentator Harsha Bhogle awestruck by his skill and class. Two balls later, he used his feet and drove Stoinis through covers for a boundary putting his wide array of strokes on display.
Watch the shots here:
All class from @ShubmanGill 👏👏
Live – https://t.co/F3rj8GI20u… #INDvAUS@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/8w74aRpaCI
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 22, 2023
The openers extended their partnership to 142 off 130 balls with both completing their respective half centuries. Ruturaj Gaikwad played a magnificent innings of (71 off 77) with the help of ten fours in his innings.
Gill is the highest run scorer in ODIs in 2023
Notably, Gill is the highest run scorer of 2023 in ODIs having scored 1052 runs in 18 innings (before 1st ODI) at an average of 70.03 and a strike rate of 104.05 with four hundred and four fifties to his name. The 24-year-old recently finished as the highest run scorer of the Asia Cup 2023 having 302 runs to his name.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami registered his second five-wicket haul in ODIs which were also his best figures in the 50-over format. Apart from Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (1/43), Ravichandran Ashwin (1/47), and Ravindra Jadeja (1/51) were also among the wickets.