Indian captain Shubman Gill etched his name into the record books by hitting the fastest double century in ODI history during the second ODI against the West Indies in Guwahati. He reached his double century in just 117 balls, eventually remaining unbeaten on 223 runs off 133 deliveries. This extraordinary innings also spared Bangladesh from holding an unwanted world record for conceding the fastest double century.
Previously, the record for the fastest ODI double century belonged to young batter Ishan Kishan, who achieved the feat in 126 balls against Bangladesh on December 10, 2022. Gill shattered that milestone while also surpassing Glenn Maxwell for the highest individual score during a run chase in ODI history; Maxwell had previously scored an unbeaten 201 off 181 balls against Afghanistan during the 2023 World Cup.
This marks Gill’s second career ODI double century, making him only the second Indian batter after Rohit Sharma to achieve multiple double centuries. Overall, this stands as the thirteenth double century in the history of international ODI cricket.
Gill adopted a cautious approach early on while captain Rohit Sharma attacked the West Indian bowling attack, completing his half-century in 37 balls. Once set, Gill shifted gears and began dispatching the ball to the boundaries with precise timing, especially against the pacers. He reached his century in 62 balls (20.1 overs) by hitting Alzarri Joseph for a boundary on the leg side, helping India cross the 200-run mark in 21.1 overs.
Maintaining his aggressive momentum, Gill reached 150 runs in 89 balls, setting a record for the fastest 150 by an Indian in ODIs. He subsequently drove India past the 300-run mark in 29.1 overs by hitting Vitel Lawes for a four, marking the fastest team 300 in ODI history. After Virat Kohli fell for 29, Ruturaj Gaikwad partnered with Gill as the latter continued dismantling the bowling attack. Gill surpassed MS Dhoni’s record of 183—the previous highest individual score by an Indian during a run chase—before bringing up his double century off 117 balls in the 38th over.
By surpassing 220 runs off 131 balls, Gill broke yet another record held by Virender Sehwag, who previously recorded the highest individual score by a captain against the same opponent in Indore back in 2011.