Shubman Gill Had the Head Start, But Ishan Kishan Caught Up in Spectacular Fashion With a 54-Ball ODI Century

Lucknow, June 17: When Rohit Sharma departed for 48 in the 14th over, all eyes were on Shubman Gill. The India captain was already batting on 42 off 31 deliveries and appeared destined for another ODI hundred. Ishan Kishan, walking out to the middle at that stage, seemed set for a supporting role.

Eighteen overs later, both batters were celebrating centuries together.

In one of the most remarkable batting performances seen in Indian ODI cricket, Kishan transformed himself from a quiet partner into the chief destroyer, smashing a breathtaking 54-ball hundred against Afghanistan. The left-hander took 52 balls to reach his half-century but required only another 19 deliveries to race to three figures, completing a stunning turnaround that left Afghanistan’s bowlers helpless.

The defining image of the innings came in the 33rd over. Shubman Gill completed his ninth ODI century with a boundary off Bilal Sami before Kishan followed him three deliveries later by crashing a boundary through backward point to bring up his own hundred. Two batters, two centuries, one over.

At the time Kishan arrived at the crease, Gill had already done much of the early scoring. The Indian skipper moved to his fifty in just 38 deliveries and continued to dominate the partnership. Even after 21 overs, Kishan had scored only 19 from 23 balls while Gill had surged to 73 from 55 deliveries.

There was little indication of the storm that was about to follow.

The first signs arrived in the 23rd over when Kishan attacked Bilal Sami with a six and a four off successive deliveries. By then he had moved to 36 from 32 balls, but Gill still remained comfortably ahead on 78 from 58.

The difference remained substantial even after 26 overs. Gill was cruising on 86 off 64 deliveries while Kishan was 43 from 44. One batter looked certain to score a hundred; the other still had considerable work to do.

Kishan reached his half-century in the 28th over with a boundary off Hashmatullah Shahidi. It came from 52 balls and appeared to be the foundation for a conventional ODI innings. What followed, however, was anything but conventional.

Having taken 52 deliveries to score his first fifty runs, Kishan exploded into life. He launched Shahidi for two boundaries and a six in the 30th over, taking his score to 70 from 59 balls. Suddenly the momentum of the partnership shifted dramatically.

Rashid Khan’s arrival in the attack did little to slow him down. Kishan took on Afghanistan’s premier spinner, collecting a four, a six and another boundary in a single over to race into the nineties. By the end of the 32nd over, he was on 91 from just 68 deliveries.

The next over belonged to history.

Gill brought up his century first, reaching the landmark in just 77 balls. The celebration had barely ended when Kishan resumed his assault. A boundary moved him into the nineties, another took him to 99, and then a fierce cut shot off the final ball of the over sped to the backward-point fence.

Helmet off. Arms raised. Century completed.

Kishan had gone from fifty to hundred in just 19 deliveries, reaching the landmark in 54 balls and recording only the second ODI century of his career after his famous double hundred against Bangladesh.

The knock also created a unique record. It was the first time two Indian batters had scored ODI centuries in 80 balls or fewer in the same innings, making India only the eighth team in ODI history to achieve the feat.

Gill may have been batting on 42 when Kishan walked out to join him. By the time the partnership ended, there was nothing to separate them except style. One crafted his hundred with elegance and control. The other detonated his way there with breathtaking power.

Both reached three figures in the same over. Few partnerships have told a more extraordinary story.