Shubman Gill scored the fastest ODI double hundred, joining Rohit Sharma with multiple 200s

Shubman Gill has been touted as a batsman of the future for some time, but he produced an innings that firmly belonged to the present in Guwahati on Wednesday. The India captain smashed the fastest double hundred in men’s ODI cricket, reaching the landmark in 117 balls against West Indies in the second ODI, becoming only the second batsman after Rohit Sharma to score more than one double hundred in the format.

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Gill took away the record from his India teammate Ishan Kishan, who scored a 126-ball double hundred against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2022. Rohit remains the only batsman to have scored three ODI double hundreds, while Gill now has two after making his debut against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 2023.

FASTEST ODI TWO HUNDRED

Shubman Gill: 117 balls vs West Indies, Guwahati, 2026
Ishan Kishan: 126 balls vs Bangladesh, Chattogram, 2022
Glenn Maxwell: 128 balls vs Afghanistan, Wankhede, 2023
Pathum Nissanka: 136 balls vs Afghanistan, Pallekele, 2024
Chris Gayle: 138 balls vs Zimbabwe, Canberra, 2015

Gill had already made his intentions known long before he reached his double hundred. He brought up his 11th ODI century from just 62 balls, his third consecutive hundred in the 50-over format. In doing so, he broke Rohit’s record for the fastest ODI century by an Indian captain. Rohit scored his hundred off 63 balls against Afghanistan during the 2023 World Cup.

The century also took Gill to 11 ODI hundreds in just 68 inningsmaking him the third fastest batsman to reach the mark in men’s ODI cricket. Hashim Amla needed 64 innings while Quinton de Kock reached 11 hundreds in 65 innings.

Gill started the innings on 14 off his first 11 balls, but once he settled in, the pace quickly changed. He reached his fifty in 37 balls and then charged into the West Indies attack, scoring his next 56 runs from just 29 deliveries.

Keemo Paul, Roston Chase and Alzarri Joseph were among the bowlers who came under pressure as Gill repeatedly found the boundary. Yet there was no extravagant stroke when the moment came. Facing Vitel Lawes, he worked his way to long-on and went for a single that took him to 200.

Halfway through the run, Gill jumped and punched before finishing him off. He then removed his helmet, placed it on the handle of his bat, and raised it toward his teammates and the crowd. The celebration had echoes of Chris Gayle’s famous gesture after achieving major milestones.

In the Indian dressing room, the players applauded their captain and Ruturaj Gaikwad was among those who came to hug and congratulate Gill.

Gill’s double hundred also had significance beyond the speed with which he achieved it. He became only the second batsman to reach an ODI double hundred in the chase. Maxwell was the first to produce his unbeaten 201 against Afghanistan at the 2023 World Cup in Mumbai in one of the most spectacular innings the format has seen.

Gill’s innings was built on a huge opening stand with Rohit again providing a perfect foil at the other end. The pair added 255 runs, India’s second-highest opening partnership in men’s ODIs, before Rohit was dismissed for 101 off 75 balls. His innings contained 10 fours and six sixes for a strike rate of 134.67.

Only Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly have put together a bigger opening partnership for India. The former India pair added 258 runs against Kenya in Paarl in 2001.

Rohit and Gill have now combined for 3,058 runs in 47 innings as an opening pair, at an average of 66.47, with nine century partnerships and 16 fifty-plus stands.

But on a night when Rohit produced another hundred, it was Gill who chased down territory rarely found in ODI cricket. His 62-ball century had already surpassed the record held by his first-year partner before his 117-ball double hundred took him past Kishan and onto a list previously dominated by Rohit, Maxwell and a handful of the format’s biggest hitters.

The manner in which Gill reached the milestone was fitting for an innings marked by confidence from the start. When India was deep in the chase, he smiled, asked for a heavy roll and continued to attack as if the target was within reach.

As a single off Lawes took him to 200, the helmet raised above his bat became the defining image of an innings in which Gill combined control with extraordinary aggression.

– The end