India vs New Zealand 1st ODI: Gill stars with bat as India survive late scare to win by 12 runs

India survived a late scare from Michael Bracewell to win by 12 runs in the 1st ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday (January 18).

Shubman Gill was the star performer for the home side with the bat after captain Rohit Sharma decided to bat first at the toss. He scored a scintillating double hundred as India managed 349/8 at the end of their 50 overs.

New Zealand made a valiant chase courtesy of Michael Bracewell (140 off 78 balls), but couldn't get over the line as they were bundled out for 337 runs. Mohammed Siraj, the local boy from Hyderabad excelled with the ball as he picked up 4 wickets.

Shubman Gill Show:

India batter Shubman Gill emerged as the focal point of Indian batting. He and captain Rohit Sharma gave a solid start to the hosts, and although Rohit (34) fell after another start, Shubman continued his batting dominance on the Kiwi bowlers.

Virat Kohli (8) and Ishan Kishan (5) also departed without causing much trouble to the Kiwi bowlers. But Gill was immense on the day as he blew away the Blackcaps bowlers and scored a fantastic double hundred, the first of his career.

Suryakumar Yadav (31 off 26 balls) and Hardik Pandya (28 off 38 balls) played their part in the middle overs but Gill's flawless inning was the main show in the afternoon.

The gifted batter went berserk in the final overs to propel India over the 330-run mark. Gill reached his double century with three consecutive sixes and finally fell in the final over after amassing a fantastic 208 runs off just 149 balls. India finished their inning at 349/8.

Shubman Gill scored a brilliant double hundred with the bat.

Henry Shipley and Daryl Mitchell picked up two wickets each while Lockie Ferguson, Mitchell Santner and Blair Tickner had one wicket to their names.

New Zealand Faltered Early:

In reply, New Zealand made a disappointing start. The local boy Mohammed Siraj was again the main provider of wickets in the early overs for India. He picked up Devon Conway (10) to draw the first blood, while Henry Nicholls (18) and Daryl Mitchell (9) fell trap to the spin of Kuldeep Yadav. Siraj came back in his second spell and picked up the Kiwi skipper Tom Latham, who was on 24. The visitors were on 131/6 when Latham departed, and it seemed only a matter of time before India take the lead in the series.

Bracewell Brilliance:

But the visitors had their trump on their sleeves. Michael Bracewell came in and dismantled the Indian bowling. Together with Mitchell Santner, the southpaw wrecked the bowlers to give New Zealand an outside chance in the match. The pair added 162 runs for the 7th wicket, before Siraj came back in his final over and added another brace to his wicket column, picking up Santner (57) and Henry Shipley (0).

Bracewell (140 off 78 balls) scored his 2nd ODI hundred and powered the Kiwis closer to the target courtesy of his brilliant batting display. The 31-year-old scored 17 runs in the 48th over of Shami, but fell in the final over in the bowling of Shardul Thakur.