"He is the reason why I started playing cricket..."- Shubman Gill picks the best Indian batter between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar

India registered a 3-0 clean sweep over New Zealand on Tuesday and has maintained its winning streak in ODIs in 2023. And the primary reason for this was Shubman Gill, who is currently in the best form of his life.

He struck three ODI centuries in the last four ODIs and became the fastest Indian batter to reach 1000 ODI runs during the series. He slammed his fourth ODI century in the third and final ODI against New Zealand on Tuesday. He has scored 1254 runs in 21 innings at an incredible average of 73.76 with four centuries and five half-centuries.

He scored a total of 360 runs in the three ODIs against New Zealand, equaling the record of Babar Azam for most runs in a three-match bilateral series. However, after the win in the final ODI on Tuesday, Gill was asked to choose the best Indian batter between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar during an interview on Star Sports.

To that, Gill replied, "I think Virat Bhai because...Sachin sir is the reason why I started playing cricket because my dad was his huge fan. When he retired, I was too young to understand cricket. By the time I started to understand cricket a little more, I would say Virat bhai because I have learnt a lot from him as a batter."

Speaking of the game, batting first, India scored a big total of 385/9 in their first inning, with both openers scoring centuries. Rohit Sharma scored his 30th ODI century after a gap of three years. He made 101 off 85, with nine fours and six sixes, while Gill made 112 off 78 balls.

Both openers added 212 runs for the first wicket to give the team a solid platform. In the end, Hardik Pandya (54 off 38) provided them a much-needed finish. In reply, New Zealand looked good for a chase but lost a couple of wickets in the middle, which cost them the game. They got dismissed for 295 runs and lost by 90 runs. Devon Conway scored 138 off 100, but his century went in vain.