Shubman Gill continued his red-hot form for India in international cricket, and on Wednesday (February 1), during the third and final T20I of a three-match series between India and New Zealand, he scored his maiden T20I century. The 23-year-old faced a total of 63 balls to score an unbeaten 126 runs. During his stay at the crease, he hammered 12 fours and seven sixes. The right-handed batter is the seventh Indian batter to score a century in the shortest format of the game at international level and is the youngest to do so. With his 126 not out against the Black Caps, Gill now holds the record for the highest individual T20I score by an Indian batter in T20Is. He broke former Indian captain and star batter Virat Kohli’s record of 122 not out, which he made against Afghanistan on September 8, 2022, in Dubai.
It was Kohli’s maiden T20I century, but now with his first T20I century, Gill not only leapfrogged Kohli’s mark and shut the critics who were having doubts over his credibility as a T20I batter but also helped India seal the series by a record margin of 168 runs
The picture of Virat’s Instagram story quickly went viral on social media platforms. Virat has always rated Gill very highly since the start of his career.
With his 126 not out against New Zealand, Gill has now become only the fifth Indian batter after Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli to score a century for India in all three formats of the game. The Punjab lad has scored a total of four centuries (3 in ODIs and one in T20I) in a total of 12 matches played so far this year.
