Shubman Gill imperious again as century guides India to ODI series whitewash of England

Shubnam Gill imperious again as century guides India to ODI series whitewash of England

Shubman Gill continued his stellar run of form, smashing a brilliant century to lead India to a commanding 142-run victory over England, completing a 3-0 clean sweep in the ODI series on Wednesday.

Gill's superb 112 off 102 balls guided India to a total of 356 after they were asked to bat first at the world's largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.

England began their chase with some solid intent, but once left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh dismissed both openers, the wickets began to fall consistently, and the visitors were bowled out for just 214 in 34.2 overs.

India's dominance in the limited-overs series, which began with a 4-1 triumph in the T20 series, sends them into the 50-over Champions Trophy (set to start February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai) with confidence.

Gill finished the series with 259 runs across three matches, capping off his brilliant performance with his seventh ODI century. He had previously scored 87 and 60 in the first two games.

The second-wicket partnership between Gill and Virat Kohli was pivotal, as they added 116 runs, with Kohli contributing 52 to lay a solid foundation for India's total.

Shreyas Iyer also impressed, scoring 78 off 64 balls, as England's bowlers struggled, with the exception of leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who claimed 4-64.

Rohit Sharma, who had scored 119 in the previous match, fell for a disappointing one, caught behind off Mark Wood.

However, Gill, who had reclaimed his opening spot from Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Kohli steadied the innings. Kohli reached his fifty off 50 balls, making a strong return to form after an underwhelming Test series in Australia, much to the delight of the crowd in the 132,000-capacity stadium.

Rashid, though, dismissed Kohli, with a sharply spinning delivery catching the edge of the bat, which was safely taken by wicketkeeper Phil Salt.

Gill, who struck 14 fours and three sixes, maintained the tempo and put on 104 runs with Iyer before being bowled out by Rashid's googly.

Iyer reached his second half-century of the series but also fell to Rashid, who added the wicket of Hardik Pandya after having been hit for two consecutive sixes.

In reply, the England openers got off to a quick start, with Ben Duckett (34) and Zak Crawley plundering 60 runs in just 38 balls. Duckett especially enjoyed facing Arshdeep, smashing him for four consecutive boundaries.

Arshdeep, however, responded by dismissing Duckett and Salt (23) in successive overs. Tom Banton and Joe Root put up some resistance in a 46-run partnership, but their efforts were in vain.

Kuldeep Yadav claimed Banton for 38, while Axar Patel bowled Root for 24, as England's batting line-up crumbled under pressure.

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