India thumped New Zealand in the second ODI at Raipur thanks to a breathtaking performance by their bowlers in the first innings, which set up a comfortable eight-wicket victory for the hosts. Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar coined a new nickname for India's dashing opener Shubman Gill during an entertaining chat following the series-clinching victory.
New Zealand were blown away by the Indian pace attack in the decisive second ODI at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, the 50th Indian venue to host an international fixture. The Kiwis lost half their side just after the conclusion of the first powerplay and managed to set a below-par target of 109 runs for the home side.
The Men in Blue got off to a rollicking start on the back of another solid opening stand between skipper Rohit Sharma and youngster Shubman Gill. Although Rohit was dismissed after his brisk half-century, Gill ensured there weren't any hiccups during the chase with his unbeaten 40 off 53 deliveries. Former Indian opener and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar is a huge admirer of Gill's batting, and during a post-match chat with the youngster, he gave him a new nickname, flustering the 23-year-old.
"I have given you a new nickname, Smoothman Gill. I hope you don't mind," Sunil Gavaskar during the interview.
Gill, who was a bit embarrassed to hear the compliment from the Indian Legend, said, "I don't mind at all, sir."
The 23-year-old batting ace became the youngest cricketer to reach the landmark of 200 runs in an ODI after his sensational innings in the series opener against the Kiwis. During his record-setting innings, he also became the fastest Indian to 1000 ODI runs, beating the previous record held by Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. He also became the joint second fastest to 1000 runs in ODI history. He is in terrific form in white-ball cricket and might even get a chance in the upcoming red-ball series against Australia ahead of the much maligned KL Rahul.
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