Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill got India to a flying start in the third and final ODI against West Indies courtesy of a blistering 143-run opening stand at the Brian Lara Stadium.
The onus was on the two Indian openers to set the stage in the series decider as the team management once again decided to rest Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
In the absence of Sharma, Hardik Pandya was the stand-in captain. Capitalising on the platform provided by Gill & Kishan, he scored a blistering 70 off 52 balls to guided India to 351 for the loss of five wickets in their 50 overs.
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While Kishan scored 77 off just 64 balls at a strike rate of 120.31, Gill posted 85 on the board in 92 deliveries as they broke Shikhar Dhawan-Ajinkya Rahane's partnership record of 132 runs which was set at Port of Spain on June 23, 2017.
Kishan completed his 50 in just 43 balls as he sent West Indies bowlers to the cleaners, before getting stumped off leg-spinner Yannic Cariah. His innings was adorned by eight boundaries and three sixes.
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Meanwhile, Gill paced his innings at his own will and was the perfect foil to Kishan who kept going big. Gill scored his fifty off 51 deliveries before he fell to Gudakesh Motie in the 39th over.
The young Indian openers also achieved the second-highest partnership by an Indian duo for any wicket in the Caribbean during ODIs. The record is still held by the legendary pair of Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag, who scored 202 runs for the second wicket against Bermuda in the 2007 World Cup match in Port of Spain.
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Century partnerships in ODIs by an opening Indian pair in West Indies
| Partners | Runs | Out | Inns | Opposition | Ground | Start Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill | 143 | 1/143 | 1 | v West Indies | Tarouba | 1 Aug 2023 | |
| S Dhawan, AM Rahane | 132 | 1/132 | 1 | v West Indies | Port of Spain | 23 Jun 2017 | |
| S Dhawan, RG Sharma | 123 | 1/123 | 1 | v West Indies | Port of Spain | 5 Jul 2013 | |
| S Dhawan, Shubman Gill | 119 | 1/119 | 1 | v West Indies | Port of Spain | 22 Jul 2022 | |
| SC Ganguly, SR Tendulkar | 116* | 0/116 | 2 | v West Indies | Port of Spain | 27 Apr 1997 | |
| S Dhawan, AM Rahane | 114 | 1/114 | 1 | v West Indies | Port of Spain | 25 Jun 2017 | |
| S Dhawan, Shubman Gill | 113 | 1/113 | 1 | v West Indies | Port of Spain | 27 Jul 2022 |
