India opener Shubman Gill
India lost openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill after a solid start, reaching 69 for 2 at lunch against New Zealand on the second day of the World Test Championship final on Saturday.
Rohit (34 off 68 balls) and Gill (28 off 64 balls) added 62 for the opening stand as they looked impressive against the New Zealand seam attack under overcast conditions after being put into bat.
However, after having done the hard work of nearly seeing off the new ball, Rohit, who hit six crisp boundaries, edged one off Kyle Jamieson (1/10 in 7 overs) to Tim Southee at third slip.
Gill also departed after the addition of one run to the total with Neil Wagner (1/5 in 2 overs) getting one to move a shade which BJ Watling, standing in his last Test, gobbled up.
The duo, however, matched Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly's feat of recording a fifty-plus opening partnership in an ICC final. Tendulkar and Ganguly had achieved the feat in the Champions Trophy final back in 2000. Ganguly had scored a magnificent 117 while Tendulkar had registered a 69-run knock, albeit in a losing cause against the Kiwis.
At the break, Cheteshwar Pujara (0 batting) and Virat Kohli (6 batting) were at the crease.
(With PTI Inputs)
