India captain Shubman Gill continued his prolific run in ODI cricket and etched his name into the record books during the second ODI against Afghanistan at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday. The 26-year-old became the fastest Indian batter to complete 1,000 ODI runs in terms of innings, overtaking some of the biggest names in Indian cricket.
Gill achieved the milestone in just 19 innings, comfortably surpassing Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, who had reached the mark in 24 innings each. Shreyas Iyer and former opener Navjot Sidhu had taken 25 innings, while Ishan Kishan needed 26 matches to get there.
Fewest innings to 1000 ODI runs (India)
- 19 - Shubman Gill
- 24 - Virat Kohli/Shikhar Dhawan
- 25 - Navjot Sidhu/Shreyas Iyer
- 26 - Ishan Kishan
The Indian skipper also entered an elite list in terms of balls faced. He reached the four-figure mark after consuming 954 deliveries, making him the fourth-fastest Indian overall by balls faced. Hardik Pandya leads the chart with 857 balls, followed by Kedar Jadhav (936) and Kapil Dev (around 954). Gill edged past former captain MS Dhoni, who had taken 955 deliveries to reach the milestone, while Ishan Kishan sits sixth with 966 balls.
Fewest balls to 1000 ODI runs (India)
- 857 - Hardik Pandya
- 936 - Kedar Jadhav
- ~954 - Kapil Dev
- 954 - Shubman Gill
- 955 - MS Dhoni
- 966 - Ishan Kishan
India's innings got off to a cautious start after Afghanistan opted to bowl first. Yashasvi Jaiswal departed early for four after being dismissed by Mohammad Saleem Safi, but Rohit Sharma counterattacked with a fluent 48 off 39 deliveries, striking six boundaries and two sixes before Rashid Khan broke the partnership. Gill then steadied the innings and found support from wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan as the pair added an unbeaten stand that kept India firmly in control. The hosts crossed 180 inside 27 overs and maintained a scoring rate close to seven runs per over.
Earlier, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi elected to field first, believing the fresh surface would aid spin during the opening half. India made three changes to the playing XI, handing pacer Prince Yadav his international debut, while Kuldeep Yadav and Yashasvi Jaiswal returned to the side.
Having secured a seven-wicket win in the series opener, India entered the contest with a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
