India 356 (Gill 112, Iyer 78, Kohli 52, Rashid 4-64) vs England
For Gill there was business to attend to, and on a sweltering day in Ahmedabad, he followed up 87 and 60 in Nagpur and Cuttack with a seventh hundred in the format. No Indian batter has as many in their first 50 caps, a feat all the more remarkable considering his sixth came 14 innings ago.
Jos Buttler’s decision to bat first upon winning the toss was predicated on the fact England had chased in the first two matches. Just as it was on those occasions, the touring quicks found themselves up against it, particularly Gus Atkinson, who finished what has been a miserable tour with 1 for 74 from eight overs.
It looked like being a seamer’s afternoon when Mark Wood bagged Rohit Sharma with his first delivery of the match. India’s skipper, fresh from a devastating 32nd ODI century, lasted just two balls, as Wood angled one into off stump that nipped off the surface, taking the edge through to a tumbling Phil Salt.
Gill and Kohli saw out the powerplay for a respectable 52 for 1, albeit with a degree of fortune. Buttler attacked with two slips in the first 10 overs, but a third – or a narrow gully – would have caught Gill on 12 off Wood. And had the Durham quick’s throw not missed the stumps at the non-striker’s end a ball later, at the start of the 7th over, Kohli might have been run out on seven after being sent back attempting a sharp single to mid-on.
The pair remained positive, and collected 24 from Joe Root’s first two overs, before Gill bookended the 14th over with a straight six and slap through square leg for four off Atkinson. It was only then that Rashid was brought into the attack.
The leg spinner’s removal of Kohli, after the 36-year-old ticked off a 123rd fifty-plus ODI score in 50 deliveries, spoke of what was to come. Dip brought the right-hander forward, grip and rip found an edge through to Salt.
Shreyas arrived and immediately settled into the quick groove, with the century stand with Gill brought up in 85 deliveries, split evenly between the two. By then, Gill had crisply struck Wood through midwicket to bring up his century from 95 deliveries.
With the milestone in his back pocket, Gill shifted up a gear, lifting Rashid down the ground but was bowled by the same bowler attempting an ungainly hack to a straight delivery. Rashid was in the act again when Shreyas, in the early stages of a post-fifty launch, lazily tickled down the leg side for another fine take from Salt.
Rashid was back hitting the stumps, removing Hardik Pandya with a beauty, though only after being struck for consecutive sixes down the ground. Pandya, having extended his arms into the blows, played it safe to see out the 41st over, but was undone by a slower delivery that again spun sharply from middle and leg, this time beyond the bat, and into the middle and off bail.
KL Rahul’s cameo came to an end on 40 as Saqib Mahmood struck him in front with a tailing yorker, but contributions from the lower order took India beyond 350. They were eventually bowled out, losing three wickets for three runs in the last seven deliveries of the innings.
Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo