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Shubman Gill showcased his versatility in two ODIs against West Indies, scoring a patient 110 in Thiruvananthapuram and a record-breaking 223 in Guwahati.
Shubman Gill is first Indian batter to score a double century in an ODI chase. (AFP Photo)
Three days separated Shubman Gill’s two most recent innings against West Indies, yet the distance between them seemed much greater than the calendar suggested.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Gill made 110 from 108 balls as India chased 296, an innings shaped by patience and careful accumulation. He spent long periods allowing the game to come to him, choosing his moments rather than manufacturing them. There was something almost Test-match-like about the deliberateness of his batting. India were never in serious danger and, with Virat Kohli eventually finishing unbeaten on 139, Shubman Gill had little reason to force the pace. His hundred served its purpose through control rather than spectacle.
Three days later, in Guwahati, West Indies had put 405 on the board and India needed to chase down a mountain. Gill responded not by changing his technique, but by changing what he asked of it.
Patience Is A Virtue?
The Gill of Thiruvananthapuram is perhaps the version most familiar to us. He is unhurried at the crease, trusting his hands, his timing and his ability to wait for the right ball. There is an understated elegance to such batting because nothing appears forced. Thiruvananthapuram demanded restraint and Shubman Gill gave it willingly.
Guwahati demanded something else. A target of 406 left little room for an indulgent beginning and the first job was to make sure the chase did not become unmanageable. Rohit Sharma took on that responsibility, reaching his fifty from 35 balls and eventually making 101 from 75. He absorbed the difficult overs, put the bowlers under pressure and gave India the momentum they needed.
Gill was alongside him but this time he did not have to be the one setting the terms.
The opening pair put on 255 and once Gill found his rhythm, the innings began gathering speed. He reached his hundred in 62 balls and brought up his double century in 117, the fastest ODI double century. He finished unbeaten on 223 from 133 balls, with 26 fours and eight sixes, as India chased down 406 with 39 balls to spare.
The symmetry with the first ODI was striking. In Thiruvananthapuram, Shubman Gill had helped set the stage before Kohli cashed in. In Guwahati, Rohit set the stage and Shubman Gill cashed in.
Shub-Man On A Mission
The fascinating part is that Guwahati did not look like a completely different Gill. The aggression was immense but there was remarkably little chaos in it. His movements remained economical, his strokes remained clean and the composure that had defined his slower hundred three days earlier was still visible.
What changed was the purpose of that composure.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Gill used it to absorb the game. In Guwahati, he used it to take control of it. The distinction matters because an ODI chase is rarely the work of one batter alone. There are difficult overs to survive, pressure to absorb and momentum to create before someone can turn that momentum into something decisive.
Gill has now shown that he can play both parts. Sometimes, he can be the batter who takes the blows early and builds the platform, as he did in the first ODI before Kohli finished the job. Sometimes, he can let a partner do that work and then take the innings somewhere else entirely, as Rohit did for him in Guwahati.
Two Gears, One Batter
There is a temptation to see the 110 and the 223 as two competing versions of Gill. They may instead be evidence of a batter learning when to be the architect and when to be the destroyer.
The patience contains the aggression, while the aggression retains the patience. Even when Gill is scoring at extraordinary speed, he rarely looks hurried. Even when he is moving slowly, there is always a sense that another gear exists somewhere beneath the surface.
Three days produced two tempos, two circumstances and two very different roles for the same batter.
India, as it turns out, need both Shubman Gills.
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Shubman Gill scored an unbeaten 223 runs from 133 balls, hitting 26 fours and eight sixes to help India chase down a target of 406 with 39 balls to spare.
October 02, 2026, 11:16 IST
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