Shubman Gill joins elite club, becomes fastest Indian…

India captain Shubman Gill (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia) Shubman Gill added another chapter to his remarkable rise in international cricket when he became the fastest Indian to 3,000 ODI runs during the opening match of the three-match series against Afghanistan in Dharamsala on Saturday.The Indian skipper reached the landmark in his 61st innings, surpassing Shikhar Dhawan’s previous Indian record of 72 innings. Only former South Africa opener Hashim Amla, who achieved the feat in 57 innings, has reached the milestone faster, making Gill the second fastest batsman in ODI history to reach 3000 runs.The latest milestone further underlined Gill’s growing status as one of the premier batsmen in world cricket.Gill, who made his ODI debut against New Zealand in January 2019, has enjoyed a prolific start to his one-day career. The right-hander hit 3,000 runs at an average comfortably above 55 while maintaining a strikeout near 100, underscoring his ability to combine consistency with an attacking stroke play.Former South African opener Hashim Amla continues to hold the world record by reaching 3000 runs in just 57 innings. Gill’s effort puts him ahead of a distinguished group that includes West Indies’ Shai Hope and Pakistan batsmen Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq, who all needed 67 innings to reach the milestone.

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The Punjab batter also surpassed former India opener Dhawan, whose 72-innings effort stood as the national benchmark for several years.Gill’s latest feat adds to an already impressive ODI resume that includes eight centuries and numerous match-winners. The 26-year-old has established himself as the cornerstone of the Indian batting unit across formats.Earlier in the match, debutants Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar took three wickets each but Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s quickfire 102 powered Afghanistan to 194 in their rain-shortened opening ODI against India in Dharamsala on Saturday.The contest was reduced to a 25-overs-per-side affair due to relentless rain earlier in the day.Dubey was slightly expensive but returned figures of 3/47 from his allotted five overs while Brar remained disciplined and finished with figures of 3/27 in 4.5 overs.However, it was the Afghanistan opener who stole the show as he smashed 102 off just 51 balls. His innings featured eight fours and eight sixes and helped propel Afghanistan to a competitive total.