IND vs NZ 2026: 'Virat Kohli's aggressive approach in Vadodara made things easier for Shubman Gill' - Women's World Cup winner

Published - 12 Jan 2026, 16:42 IST | Updated - 12 Jan 2026, 17:31 IST

Former Australian women's team captain Lisa Sthalekar believes that the half-century against New Zealand in the first ODI on Sunday, January 11, will do a world of good to Shubman Gill's confidence. The World Cup winner opined that Virat Kohli's aggressive approach from the outset helped the Indian ODI skipper to ease into his innings without worrying about the run rate.

Chasing a 301-run target at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara, Rohit Sharma departed after scoring a 29-ball 26. Shubman, who was returning to ODI cricket after recovering from a neck injury, went on to forge a crucial 118-run stand off 107 balls with Virat Kohli. The former India captain was the aggressor in the partnership, and this allowed the Punjab batter to assess the conditions upfront and score an important half-century.

"I think Shubman was five off 20 deliveries at one stage. So, as soon as Virat came in, he went bang, bang, bang. Just allowed Shubman to not feel the pressure that he needed to fix a switch or go into a different gear. He could slowly find it. At times, you need to spend more time in the middle and having scoreboard pressure adds a little bit more to it. But Kohli took that away from him and allowed him to play his natural game and get a feel and a rhythm of the game for him to get going," Sthalekar said on Cricbuzz when asked if batting with Kohli helped the youngster.

Sthalekar described Shubman's knock as an important one and added that she won't be surprised if the Firozpur-born slams a century in one of the two remaining ODIs.

"I think this was an important innings for him. I wouldn't be surprised in one of the next two ODIs that he brings up triple figures," the cricketer-turned-expert stated.

The second ODI is scheduled to be played at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Wednesday, January 14. India will look to double their lead and bag the series with a game to spare.