Jaiswal, Gill hit joint second-most boundaries in powerplay for India in T20Is

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill have opened nine times in T20Is but in a short span of time, the two young batters have produced some insane numbers. 

Together, they have hit 516 runs in nine innings at an average of 64.5, the second-best among all opening pairs from the top-10 sides after England’s Alex Hales and Jos Buttler (average 66).

Jaiswal and Gill featured as an opening pair in three of the five T20Is against Zimbabwe earlier this month and put on partnerships of 67, 156 and 13. As a result, the two were picked ahead of Abhishek Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad for the three T20Is against Sri Lanka.

Jaiswal and Gill put on a tremendous show with the bat in the powerplay after being asked to bat first in the first T20I in Pallekele on July 27 (Saturday). The pair added 74 runs in six overs, the second-highest powerplay score against Sri Lanka at their home.

Jaiswal and Gill walked out all guns blazing, with the former hitting the first delivery of the innings for a boundary. Gill then slammed two more fours to collect 13 runs from the first over bowled by Dilshan Madushanka.

Asitha Fernando conceded 9 in the second over before Jaiswal smashed Maheesh Theekshana for 14 in the third. The runs kept flowing as India raced to 51 for no loss at the end of four overs - the third-most against Sri Lanka by any team in the 20-over format.

Gill allowed Jaiswal to have most of the strike in the first five overs before attacking Madushanka in the final over of the powerplay. The tall right-handed batter slammed the left-arm seamer for two fours and a six but got out on the final delivery of the powerplay. 

Gill smacked six fours and a six in his 16-ball 34, while Jaiswal hit five fours and two maximums in his 21-ball 40. Overall, the two hit 14 boundaries in the powerplay, the joint second-most for India in this phase in T20Is.

They slammed 15 boundaries against Scotland in Dubai during the 2021 T20 World Cup and 14 against New Zealand in Johannesburg during the 2007 T20WC. India also scored 14 boundaries against Australia in Thiruvananthapuram in 2023.

Gill and Jaiswal, however, couldn’t carry on and perished on consecutive deliveries. While Gill mistimed one towards mid-on, where Fernando took a stunning catch, Jaiswal was stumped off Wanindu Hasaranga’s googly on the first delivery of the seventh over.

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