A blizzard of memes struck social media after India opener Shubman Gill went past Virat Kohli's massive T20I record against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

 

He smashed a scintillating 126 not out off 63 balls against the Black Caps, leapfrogging Virat Kohli to have the highest score by an Indian in T20Is.

The former India captain scored an excellent 122 off 61 balls against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup in September last year.

At 23 years and 146 days, Shubman Gill is now the youngest men's cricketer to score hundreds in all three formats of the game.

Shubman Gill also joined a select band of Indian players who have made hundreds across all formats. Before him, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, and KL Rahul were the only Indians to reach the milestone.

Gill is also the youngest Indian batter to hit a T20I hundred, going past Suresh Raina's previous mark, who achieved the landmark in 23 years and 156 days.

If this wasn't enough, Shubman Gill added another feather to his cap as he leapfrogged Virat Kohli to have the highest score by an Indian in T20Is. The former India captain scored an excellent 122 off 61 balls against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup in September last year.

The youngster was positive from the outset as he cracked boundaries early on in his innings before clobbering Lockie Ferguson for 11 runs in an over.

Afterward, Shubman Gill went berserk as he began dealing in boundaries and sixes, but his all-out assault on the New Zealand bowlers only came after he completed his half-century. Later, Rahul Tripathi and Suryakumar Yadav perished after scoring 44 off 22 and 24 off 13 balls, leaving Gill to go ballistic in his attack.

Gill struck back-to-back sixes against Benjamin Lister, before smashing two more maximums against Blair Tickner to cruise into the 90s. He brought up his maiden T20I century with a powerful cover drive off Lockie Ferguson and collected another 17 runs in the 19th over to take India past the 200-mark. The Men in Blue eventually finished with a huge total of 234/4.

Chasing a mammoth score, New Zealand never looked threatening during the run chase as they lost their openers in the first two overs and half their side inside the initial powerplay. Later, Hardik Pandya and his boys bowled them out for 66, registering their biggest victory in T20Is by a massive margin of 168 runs.

Gill's hundred came amid rising criticism of his play in T20Is, with 2011 World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir blasting him for his failures in the series' previous two games against New Zealand. The Fazilka-born cricketer managed to score only 7 off 6 balls and 11 off 9 deliveries in Ranchi and Lucknow respectively.

Moreover, with the explosive Prithvi Shaw warming the bench, Gautam Gambhir urged the Indian think tank, featuring captain Hardik Pandya and head coach Rahul Dravid to drop Shubman Gill from the XI in T20Is.

According to Gautam Gambhir, Shubman Gill's natural game isn't suited to T20s; hence, it would be more appropriate to try Prithvi Shaw in the format.

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“I feel Shubman Gill has to get better against spin, on a spinning wicket. He had his struggles against Bangladesh as well. Yes, he has been fabulous in the 50-over format, got good wickets to bat on, with 5 fielders inside, But then, you've got to get better when the ball starts spinning, gripping and bouncing as well. He will get tested, not only against seam but spin as well,” Gautam Gambhir said on Star Sports.

“He still hasn't found his feet in T20 format, when it comes to playing international cricket. Sometimes you have to play at a different tempo. His basic game suits 50-over format. Someone like Prithvi Shaw, his basic instinctive game is made for T20 cricket. Shubman Gill is someone whose basic game is made for 50-over format. How quickly he learns and adapts to this format will decide whether he will be able to play all the three formats,” Gautam Gambhir asserted.

However, with his blistering knock against the Black Caps in Gujarat, Shubman Gill proved that he could perform in the shortest format of the sport too.

Shubman Gill's history-making ton earned him rave reviews from former cricketers and pundits with several ex-India players paying rich tributes to him on Twitter.

“Shubman Gill shows T20 isn't about just unconventional and pre-meditated shots. Correct cricket never goes out of fashion,” former India batter Mohammad Kaif tweeted.

“The best part about Gill's batting is how many good balls he hits for 4s & 6s. Batting like a dream. Congratulations on maiden T20I ton Shubman Gill,” ex-India opener Wasim Jaffer posted on the microblogging site.

“I was very keen to see how Shubman Gill converts that solid start into a big finish. This is a fabulous innings. That second fifty is just out of this world,” noted cricketer commentator Harsha Bhogle said.

Meanwhile, an ecstatic Shubman Gill was happy to tick another box on his resume with his maiden T20I hundred against the Kiwis.

“It feels good when you practise and it pays off. Happy to get the big ones for the team. Everybody has a different technique to hit sixes. Hardik bhai told me to bat the way I do, and that there is no need to do anything extra. When you are representing your country, I don't think there's any kind of fatigue, and I am happy to play all three formats,” Gill said at the post-match presentation ceremony.