IND vs WI: For the third game in a row, India got a solid start from their openers – skipper Shikhar Dhawan and youngster Shubman Gill as the pair registered their second century opening stand in three matches during the third ODI of the series against West Indies on Wednesday at Queen’s Park Oval in Port Of Spain.
Paired together after a long time, after about 17 months, Gill and Shikhar Dhawan had conjured up an attacking stand of 119 runs in 106 balls in the first ODI in India’s total of 308. Gill was dismissed for 64 and Dhawan went on to score a match-winning 97.
Then in the second ODI, Gill once again was the aggressor in their 48-run stand but Dhawan was dismissed for only 13 and then Gill on 43 in India’s successful chase of 312.
Gill and Dhawan scored 113 runs in the third IND vs WI ODI
Then in the third ODI, which is a dead rubber as India have won the series with wins in the first two matches, the right-and-left-hand duo stitched together a rather sedate but sizeable opening partnership of 113 runs in 22.5 overs, giving India a great platform for the others to follow and play their shots with freedom without much worry.
Both the batters brought up their respective fifties – both of theirs second in three matches – but once again Dhawan failed to convert it into a three-figure score. The left-hander danced down the track to hit Hayden Walsh out of the ground, but could only chip a high catch in the air, as he top-edged a leg-side delivery that gripped a bit in the surface and hence the mistimed shot.
Nicholas Pooran, the West Indies skipper, punched an easy catch at mid-wicket as West Indies had their first breakthrough – Dhawan gone after scoring 58 runs off 74 balls, his innings laced with 7 neatly struck boundaries; though Dhawan had had a scratchy start to his knock, he survived the early tricky period before cashing in later on.
Gill, on the other hand, was as fluent as he has been so far in the series, timely crisping his strokes with confidence and clarity, being able to judge the pace from the bowlers and the nature of the surface early in his innings.
The right-hander is unbeaten at 54 runs off 65 balls, having hit 3 fours and a six, by the time the rain arrived to halt the play after the 24th over.
Fans on Twitter were effusive in praise of Dhawan and Gill for the strong base they had laid for India’s rest of the innings.
Here are some of the reactions to their opening stand:
Shikhar Dhawan – Shubman Gill opening partnerships in the #WIvIND ODI series
119 (106)
48 (66)
113 (137)— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) July 27, 2022
India after powerplay in this series:
1st ODI: 73-0 Gill 41*(28), Dhawan 28*(32)
2nd ODI: 42-0 Gill 30*(33), Dhawan 12*(27)
3rd ODI: 45-0 Gill 22*(28), Dhawan 22*(32)West Indies couldn’t pick a single wicket in this phase!
— 12th Khiladi (@12th_khiladi) July 27, 2022
50 partnership up.
Dhawan and Gill continue to enjoy the
tour!#WIvIND | #WIvsIND | #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/EM1ECw7vlu
—
tour!
Flashscore Cricket Commentators (@FlashCric) Gill’s 51 ( 65 ) Dhawan’s 58 ( 74 ) pic.twitter.com/xxDyBhjb5l
— Camlin Oil Pastels
(@CamlinTweets) Two tight matches, two wins showcase India’s depth of talent as well as ambition. Dhawan, Hooda, Iyer, Gill, Samson, Axar, Chahal all coming good when needed
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) July 25, 2022
If if Gill scored 5 Hundreds before next year’s WC he should not be playing ahead of Dhawan..
— Ketan V Bhirud (@KetBhirud1) July 25, 2022
Fantastic partnership of Dhawan and Gill
— AishwaryA
(@DivineAish) Half-centuries at both ends fired #TeamIndia to a flyer.
Shikhar Dhawan brought up his 3⃣7⃣th half-century while Shubman Gill reached his 2⃣nd ODI fifty to stitch a fine partnership of 1⃣1⃣3⃣ for the opening stand.
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) July 27, 2022
– 113/1 (23)#QuickByte: Indian opening pairs with two century partnerships in an away bilateral series.
S Ganguly – S Tendulkar
S Dhawan – A Rahane
S Dhawan – S Gill— Cricket.com (@weRcricket) July 27, 2022
3 vs ENG (2007)FINALLY, A wicket for West Indies!
113 run partnership between Gill and Dhawan has been broken as Shikhar Dhawan has departs after a well made 58 off 74 balls!
— TNN Cricket Especial (@CricketEspecial) July 27, 2022
Dhawan 80 sr today vs Gill 84 sr pic.twitter.com/gWbvfsBHnV
— Ram (@Flick_of_wrists) July 27, 2022
Partnerships between Dhawan & Gill in the ongoing ODI series against West Indies!#ShubmanGill #ShikharDhawan #IndvsWI #INDvWI #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/3oHHBbP05G
— Vtrakit Cricket (@Vtrakit) July 27, 2022
Gill should be a permanent member of ict now , bat him in the mo in tests…open with him once dhawan retires…
— Himanshu shekar sahani (@shekar_sahani) July 27, 2022
Shikhar Dhawan with a fifty in 53 balls. A good innings by the captain, a super partnership between him and Shubman Gill.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 22, 2022
•Partnership between Shubman Gill & Shikhar Dhawan in this Series
1st ODI :- 119
2nd ODI :- 48
3rd ODI :- 100* #WIvIND #TeamIndia— SMRITI♡ (@ViratKiDeewaani) July 27, 2022
Dhawan and Gill provide a good start to Team India in the 3rd ODI#TeamIndia #Jaat #Hindustan pic.twitter.com/B0dJveWbEL
— Sandeep_Ogra45 (@Sandeep_Ogra56) July 27, 2022
