50 overs India 289 for 8 (Gill 130, Kishan 50, Evans 5-54) vs Zimbabwe
Dhawan started the India innings in brisk fashion with three fours in his first 10 balls, but Zimbabwe replied with tight bowling thereon. When they saw that Dhawan was pouncing on balls that were too short or too full, Richard Ngarava and Victor Nyauchi stuck to tight lines and good lengths which kept both India openers in check. Dhawan even got a life on 17 in the seventh over when he was dropped at point off Ngarava, but he couldn’t capitalise on it, and struck two more fours before handing a leading edge to cover for 40.
It was all a Gill show after that. He walked in when India were going at just over four an over and the Zimbabwe bowlers were being shown respect for their stifling bowling, and he looked a class apart. He timed the ball very well, drove with confidence whenever the ball was pitched up even marginally, swept the ball into gaps, and kept the score ticking even as Kishan took his time to ease himself in. Gill struck a four every over he got strike in for four overs in a row starting with the 21st, while Kishan played out a maiden from Sikandar Raza and got a life when he was on 6 off 17 balls, when Sean Williams dropped a return catch in the 27th over. Kishan then broke the shackles by slog-sweeping and lofting Raza straight for two fours in the 32nd over, before Gill collected two more against Williams three overs later after bringing up a 51-ball half-century.
That over began a sequence in which Gill and Kishan took 33 off three overs, soon after which they brought up their century stand with the scoring rate moving past five an over. But just as Gill continued to find boundaries to race towards his century and Kishan brought up his second ODI fifty, off 61 balls, Zimbabwe began to hit back.
Gill survived a close lbw appeal on 97 off Evans in the 43rd over, and a review showed he had got a thick edge, but Zimbabwe still got a wicket off that ball, with Kishan run out when the fielders were still appealing for the lbw. Munyonga swooped in from point and threw the stumps down at the non-striker’s end after Kishan had run halfway down the pitch. Evans’ offcutter then picked up its second victim of the day when Deepak Hooda fell for 1 five balls later.
Gill was unfazed. He bowed down towards the dressing room to celebrate his maiden century, off just 82 balls, off the next ball and continued to unleash his booming drives and pulls. Then he got a life in an eventful 46th over. He was dropped at short fine leg by Nyauchi on 110, after which Sanju Samson hit two successive sixes before being dismissed. Samson swung Luke Jongwe over long-off with two clean strikes but then holed out to deep square leg when he went for his third in a row.
Axar Patel also holed out two overs later but only after Gill had collected two more fours. India had scored 65 runs in eight overs since the 40th, but Zimbabwe fought back in the last two, mainly thanks to Evans. After a seven-run penultimate over from Ngarava, Evans had Gill caught at long-off for 130 and Shardul Thakur chipping a deceptive slower ball to mid-off while giving away only seven more and finishing with his maiden ODI five-for, which his father and former Zimbabwe allrounder Craig Evans applauded from the stands.