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Happy Birthday, Prince! Revisiting Shubman 'Gritty' Gill's 208 On A Ro-Ko Failed Clash

Soumyajit Dutta

Shubman Gill celebrated after his double ton [Source: @kamath_nitin/X.com]Shubman Gill celebrated after his double ton [Source: @kamath_nitin/X.com]

A January afternoon back in 2023. The Kiwis hunt down Indian batters like mere prey, but for 47 overs, the Hyderabad crowd had witnessed a masterclass in controlled aggression. Shubman Gill had been sublime, a lone swordsman carving through a disciplined New Zealand attack on a surface where every other Indian batter struggled to even find a fifty. 

Shubman Gill's place in the side, once questioned after his stand-in scored a double-century, had been answered with 70, 21, 116, and now, a monumental knock. However, as Lockie Ferguson began his run-up for the 49th over, a different kind of tension filled the air. Gill was on 182*. The milestone, a double-century, was so close he could taste it, yet so far with balls running out. 

The 6,6,6 That Announced Gill's Arrival

The first ball was fast and full, angling into the batter. Gill, with the serene calm of a man in complete control, cleared his front leg and launched into a breathtaking lofted drive. The connection was pure, the sound a crack that echoed around the stadium. The ball sailed back over the bowler's head, disappearing into the stands beyond the long-on boundary.

The crowd erupted, but Gill was already resetting. The job wasn't done. Lockie Ferguson, scowling, steamed in again. Another thunderbolt, this time shorter, aiming for the ribcage. Gill was quicker. A slight shuffle, a powerful pivot, and the pull shot erupted from his bat. 

It was less a shot and more a command, ordering the ball into the crowd at backwards square leg. It obeyed. Two back-to-back sixes, and Gill was unfazed at 194.

The Defining Six That Created History For The 'Prince'

Emotions of Shubman Gill after the double ton [Source: @kurrith_thopku/X.com]Emotions of Shubman Gill after the double ton [Source: @kurrith_thopku/X.com]

The stadium was now a cacophony of pure, unadulterated euphoria. Two balls, two sixes. The double-century was just one big hit away. The next ball was a low full toss, and Gill got underneath it, his powerful core and impeccable timing converging into a perfect, soaring arc over wide long-on. It cleared the rope, and there it was.

The roar that followed was deafening. Gill, usually a picture of contained celebration, bowing down to the crowd, unleashed a primal scream, taking off his helmet and looking up at the sky, a mix of relief, exhilaration, and sheer triumph washing over him. 

On a track where his captain scored 34 and the great Virat Kohli fell for 8, he had made 200. When no other Indian batter could pass fifty, he had doubled the mark.

He became the youngest to ever do it in ODI history, anointing himself as the next pillar of Indian batting. Gill had arrived, and he was here to stay. The storm had passed, and the 'Prince' was standing in its wake. Happy Birthday, Shubman Gill.