"Koi kisi ko ghar bula ke aise karta hai kya?" - Fans react as Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill share 212-run opening partnership in IND vs NZ 3rd ODI

India captain Rohit Sharma and his opening partner Shubman Gill shone for the Men in Blue in the third ODI against New Zealand in Indore on Tuesday, January 24. The duo shared a mammoth 212-run partnership for the opening wicket.

Rohit scored 101 off 85 balls, including six maximums and nine boundaries before getting bowled out to Michael Bracewell in the 27th over.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill scored 112 runs off 78 balls, comprising five sixes and 13 boundaries before getting caught by Devon Conway off Blair Tickner’s bowling.

Fans were excited to witness India’s exceptional opening stand ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup at home.

Gill also equaled Babar Azam’s record (360 runs) of most runs in a bilateral three-match ODI series. The 23-year-old scored 208 runs and an unbeaten 40 in the first two ODIs, which India won by 12 runs and eight wickets, respectively. Rohit, meanwhile, returned with figures of 34 and 51 in the first two games against New Zealand.

It's worth mentioning that the opening duo recently shared a 143-run partnership (in the first ODI) against Sri Lanka.

Rohit Sharma and Co. make two changes for IND vs NZ 3rd ODI

Earlier in the day, New Zealand skipper Tom Latham won the toss and opted to field first. The Kiwi side made one change with pacer Jacob Duffy replacing Henry Shipley. Meanwhile, India made two changes as Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami were rested for the last ODI. Umran Malik and Yuzvendra Chahal were included in the playing XI.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Umran Malik

New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w/c), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy, and Blair Tickner.

Rohit Sharma and Co. will look to win the game and complete a 3-0 whitewash in the series. The action will then shift to the three-match T20I series against the same team, starting in Ranchi on Friday, January 27.

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James has been covering cricket news for Sportskeeda for 3+ years with over 1 crore readership. He has been following the game since 2002 and has not looked back since. A breaking news specialist, he has a previous 3-year work experience at Times of India, English Jagran, NDTV and others, covering all news categories, including sports.

James holds a Master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism and a diploma in Sub-editing and Design which shaped his sports reporting career. During the course of his education, he learned about the 5W1H format, fact-checking, ethics, SEO, pyramid structure, etc, which enable him to produce compelling content for his readers. His exploits in reporting have led him to exclusively cover numerous ICC events and IPL.

James comes from Jharkhand and is highly inspired by legendary India captain MS Dhoni. He is a staunch supporter of the ICT and is loyal towards the CSK. When not immersed in his favorite sport, James likes watching Bollywood songs.

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