Iyer impresses with a stunning 100 ahead of the World Cup...
In the first ODI match of the series against Australia in Mohali two days ago, Shreyas Iyer was obviously upset when he was on the receiving end of a run-out mix-up. Iyer managed only three runs before returning to the pavilion as a helpless Shubman Gill, who rather appeared uninterested in the single, watched. Iyer has been desperately trying to prove his worth once more amid the rising talk about including Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul in the same XI for the World Cup at the expense of him being benched. But on Sunday, the two put the situation behind them as they tested the Australian attack at Holkar Stadium in Indore without Pat Cummins to record their individual century.
Gill maintained his incredible form in one-day international cricket, recovering from that brief setback in August while on the West Indies tour to slam his sixth ODI century off 80 deliveries. He was removed for 74 on Friday in India's successful chase of 276 and finished 26 runs short of the target, but he still made sure he reached the triple-figure barrier for the sixth time in 2023.
Gill started off his innings relatively slowly, which allowed Ruturaj Gaikwad to play the aggressor at the beginning of the innings until Iyer took control. Additionally, Gill took on Sean Abbot after scoring 9 off his first 19 deliveries for a clear six over long-on and a boundary slapped through extra cover. And despite a brief delay brought on by rain, Gill stuck to his aggressive plan and scored 41 runs in the following 18 balls before hitting the century mark in 92 balls.
With the century, Gill tied Australia great Ricky Ponting's incredible global record for the most ODI home hundred scored in a single year. Gill, who surpassed the 1200 run mark in the format, equaled Ponting's 2007 record and Pakistani great Zaheer Abbas, who had accomplished the feat for the first time back in 1982, by scoring four centuries at home. As a result, he left behind Babar Azam (2022), Virat Kohli (in 2017), Rohit Sharma (in 2017), and Sachin Tendulkar's 1996 total of three hundreds.
Gill also passed Kohli's 2013 record of 716 runs and Sachin's 2007 record of 783 runs to become the fourth hitter to score 800 runs at home in a calendar year under the 50-over format. With 973 runs achieved in 2015, Martin Guptill of New Zealand continues to hold the record. Sachin is in second place with 957 runs recorded in 1996. Since Gill will undoubtedly play all nine of his group games during the ODI World Cup next month, he will undoubtedly move up the rankings.
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