A number of records were shattered when India thrashed New Zealand by 168 runs in the third T20I against New Zealand on Wednesday in Ahmedabad. Shubman Gill notched up his maiden T20I hundred, helping India set the visitors a mammoth target of 235. In reply, the Mitchell Santner-led side was bundled out for 66, handing India a 2-1 series win.
India’s 168-run triumph now stands as the biggest victory in terms of margin of runs over a Test-playing nation. The Men in Blue edged past Pakistan’s record which was set in 2018. It was the opening T20I of the Windies’ tour of Pakistan which was won by the Sarfaraz Khan-led side by 143 runs. Pakistan posted 203/5 after batting first. The touring party was bowled out for 60 runs in the chase.
Earlier, Shubman altered the record books with his maiden T20I ton against New Zealand. The 23-year-old batter from Punjab entered the elite list of Indian batters to score a century in the shortest format of the game. Gill notched up his maiden T20I hundred off just 54 deliveries, becoming the seventh Indian player to do so.
Shubman Gill also became the 5th Indian batter to score a century across formats. He has made it to the list comprising the likes of Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli.
With his sensational knock, Shubman broke the record of Virat Kohli to post the highest score by an Indian in T20Is. Kohli hit unbeaten 122 runs against Afghanistan in Asia Cup 2022 which was also his maiden T20I century. However, it didn’t last very long as Shubman pipped him on Wednesday with a sublime 126-run* knock
Highest scores by an Indian in T20Is
Shubman Gill – 126* vs New Zealand in 2023
Virat Kohli – 122* vs Afghanistan in 2022
Rohit Sharma – 118 vs Sri Lanka in 2017
Suryakumar Yadav – 117 vs England in 2022
Suryakumar Yadav – 112* vs Sri Lanka in 2023
“It feels good when you practice and it pays off. I was backing myself to score big. Didn’t happen in the Sri Lanka series and in the first T20 matches, but happy to see it work out now,” Gill said in the post-match presentation.
The opener also credited Hardik for backing and advising him after he fails in the first two games.
“Everybody has a different technique to hit sixes. Hardik bhai told me to play my game, not do anything extra and he kept backing me,” he said.
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