India Pile Up 402 in Lucknow as Gill, Kishan and Rohit Rewrite the Record Books
India produced a batting masterclass in Lucknow on Wednesday, posting 402 runs against Afghanistan in the second ODI of their three-match series to match South Africa's all-time record of nine 400-plus totals in ODI cricket. It was a day defined not just by the volume of runs, but by the sheer density of individual milestones, with skipper Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma each reaching significant career landmarks in a commanding team performance.
The scale of India's dominance in limited-overs cricket continues to set the benchmark globally. Only England, with seven 400-plus totals, and Australia, with three, come close to matching the kind of batting firepower that India and South Africa have repeatedly demonstrated at international level. Cricket fans following the sport's rapid growth across the subcontinent - from major bilateral series to emerging tournaments like the nepal saptari pride league live - will have witnessed on Wednesday exactly why Indian batting depth is regarded as the gold standard in the 50-over format. India's highest ODI total remains the 418 for five they posted against the West Indies back in 2011, a mark that still stands as the target this side appears capable of threatening on any given day.
Gill's 154 Anchors the Innings and Brings Up 7,000 International Runs
Shubman Gill was the fulcrum of the innings, compiling a superb 154 off just 110 balls and bringing up 7,000 international runs in the process. In 140 matches across all formats, the 25-year-old now has 7,029 runs at an average of 46.24 and a strike rate of 81.87, with 21 centuries and 29 fifties to his name. His best score of 269 speaks to the kind of match-winning potential that has made him India's captain in this series.
Gill's 150 arrived off 108 balls, making it the third fastest by an Indian in ODIs - behind only Ishan Kishan, who reached the landmark in 103 balls against Bangladesh in 2022, and Virat Kohli, who did it in 106 against Sri Lanka in 2023. His century was also the fourth fastest by an Indian captain in ODIs; Rohit Sharma's blistering 63-ball hundred against Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup remains the benchmark. Gill's knock was not reckless power-hitting for its own sake - it was the innings of a captain who understood the match situation and took the attack apart methodically before accelerating.
His 224-run third-wicket partnership with Ishan Kishan is now the third best in ODI history for that wicket for India, sitting just behind the iconic 237-run stand between Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid against Kenya in 1999, and one other. These are the kind of associations that place Gill firmly in the conversation about India's great ODI batters, even at this relatively early stage of his international career.
Kishan Reaches 1,000 ODI Runs Among a String of Personal Milestones
Ishan Kishan's contribution went well beyond the partnership. The left-hander brought up a fluent century to accompany his major statistical landmark: 1,000 ODI runs, achieved in just 26 innings. Only Gill (19 innings), and the quartet of Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Navjyot Singh Sidhu and Shreyas Iyer (all in 25 innings) have reached that mark faster for India. In terms of balls faced to reach 1,000 ODI runs, Kishan's arrival at the milestone in 966 balls places him fifth on the Indian list, with Hardik Pandya holding the record at 857 balls. For a player whose international career has had its share of interruptions, Wednesday in Lucknow was a statement of intent.
Rohit Crosses 14,000 List A Runs; Iyer Quietly Reaches 3,000 in ODIs
Rohit Sharma's contribution of 48 off 39 balls at the top of the order was typically destructive, and it brought him to another career milestone: 14,038 runs in List A cricket across 356 matches, with 37 centuries to his name. He becomes only the fifth Indian to cross that threshold, joining an elite list headed by Sachin Tendulkar - whose 21,999 runs in 551 matches, including 60 centuries, represent a summit that may never be reached - followed by Virat Kohli (16,447), Sourav Ganguly (15,622) and Rahul Dravid (15,271). Rohit's place in that company is a reminder that, even as his role evolves, his accumulation across limited-overs formats over two decades places him among the finest Indian batters in history.
Lower down the order, Shreyas Iyer's 26 off 24 balls was a modest innings in the context of the day, but it was enough to push him past 3,000 ODI runs in 72 innings - making him the joint second-fastest Indian to the milestone alongside Shikhar Dhawan, with only Gill (62 innings) ahead of them both. Iyer now has 3,015 runs at an average of 45.68 in 78 ODIs, with five centuries and 23 fifties. That said, 2025 has not been kind to him - 98 runs in five innings at an average of 19.60 suggests a player still searching for his best form at international level, even as the milestone offered a moment to acknowledge his overall contribution to the format.
India lead the three-match series 1-0 going into Wednesday's game, and a total of 402 will firmly underline their intent to close out the series in Lucknow. For Afghanistan, the challenge of chasing such a score will test the depth and composure of a side that has made remarkable strides in ODI cricket over the past decade. The records, however, belonged entirely to India.
