Certain Hindi proverbs are extremely hard to translate. And when they are, the essence is somewhat lost. "Lambi race ka ghoda" is one of them. Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar did his best to translate that and explain why he thinks Shubman Gill is a "Lambi race ka ghoda" for Indian cricket after the opener, playing his first match as the designated vice-captain of the Indian ODI team, played a sublime knock to help India win the series opener against England in Nagpur.
"We had a term in the team ‘Lambi race ka Ghoda’ for certain players. Meaning someone who will be around for a long time in Indian cricket. That’s what Shubman Gill is!" Manjrekar wrote on X.
Gill, who dropped down to No.3 as India handed debut to Yashasvi Jaiswal, smashed 87 off 96 balls to help India chase down the 249-run target in 38.4 overs with four wickets in hand. Gill was adjudged Player of the Match for his knock that included 14 boundaries.
Gill overcame cramp to make 87 and take India close to the finish line on a two-paced, turning wicket at Nagpur's Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium after Patel scored 52 in a 108-run stand for the fourth wicket.
{{/usCountry}}Gill overcame cramp to make 87 and take India close to the finish line on a two-paced, turning wicket at Nagpur's Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium after Patel scored 52 in a 108-run stand for the fourth wicket.
{{/usCountry}}Yashasvi Jaiswal came into the eleven after Virat Kohli was ruled out due to a sore right knee but was out for 15 following a probing early spell by Jofra Archer while out-of-form captain Rohit Sharma fell for two to Saqib Mahmood.
Iyer blasted two consecutive sixes off Archer in the seventh over en route to an entertaining fifty and after he departed for 59, Gill played a controlled knock with exquisite shots on both sides but holed out to Mahmood while looking to accelerate.
Ravindra Jadeja (12 not out) and Hardik Pandya (nine not out) then took the hosts home. England elected to bat after winning the toss and went into attack mode early when Phil Salt plundered 26 runs in the sixth over bowled by Harshit Rana, before the tourists cruised to 71 for no loss after eight overs.
India struck against the run of play when a mix-up led to Salt being run out for 43 while opening partner Ben Duckett was out for 32 after Jaiswal produced a brilliant running catch to hand fellow ODI debutant Rana his first wicket.
Rana then dismissed Harry Brook for a duck three balls later before Joe Root, who returned to the ODI fold for the first time since England's ill-fated World Cup title defence in 2023, was trapped lbw by Jadeja for 19.
Skipper Buttler and Bethell revived England's innings with battling half-centuries but the hosts kept taking timely wickets to ensure their opponents were bowled out for 248, with Jadeja picking up 3-26 and Rana finishing on 3-53.