India defeated New Zealand in the second One-Day International at Raipur thanks to their bowlers’ outstanding performance in the first innings, which helped the hosts win by an easy eight wickets. After the series win, batting icon Sunil Gavaskar and the dashing opener Shubman Gill had a fun conversation, where Sunil Gavaskar came up with a new nickname for Gill.
On Saturday, Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium became the 50th venue in India to host an international match. New Zealand was completely outclassed by the Indian pace attack in the pivotal second ODI. Just after the first powerplay ended, half of the Kiwis were sitting inside the pavilion. However, they still managed to give a target of 109 runs.
The opening stand between captain Rohit Sharma and the youngster Shubman Gill was once again excellent, and it helped the Men in Blue get off to a thrilling start. Despite Rohit’s quick half-century and his dismissal then, Gill’s unbeaten 40 off 53 deliveries made sure the chase went off without a hitch.
Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian opener and batting icon is a huge admirer of Gill’s batting and gave the 23-year-old a new nickname during a post-match conversation.
“I have given you a new nickname, Smoothman Gill. I hope you don’t mind,” said Sunil Gavaskar during the interview.
The third and the final ODI of this three-match series will be played on January 24 at Holkar Stadium, Indore.
