Young opener Shubman Gill on Saturday (January 21) said that batting with India skipper Rohit Sharma was always his dream. The pair has done exceptionally well while opening the innings together in ODIs lately.

The team management decided to give Gill a long run by dropping veteran Shikhar Dhawan from the ODI side. As it turned out, the 23-year-old repaid the faith by smashing 208 off 149 balls in the first ODI against New Zealand.

Shubman continued his brilliance with the willow in the second ODI as well. He stayed unbeaten on 40 as India chased down New Zealand’s paltry target of 109 with eight wickets in hand and 179 balls to spare.

“It was a good opportunity for me to stay unbeaten in the middle. There was a little in it for the fast bowlers in the second innings, thought there would be more when we saw them bat, but there wasn’t a lot (when we batted)," Gill told broadcasters after guiding India over the line.

The right-handed opener acknowledged that the Kiwi spinners cause a bit of trouble in the chase.

“It did grip a little for Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell," he added.

Shubman Gill was involved in a 72-run partnership for the opening wicket with Rohit Sharma, who scored 51 off 50 balls.

Reflecting on the partnership, Gill said: “It’s always a dream to bat with Rohit bhai, have learnt a lot batting along with him."

With this emphatic victory, the Men in Blue also took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series over the BlackCaps.

The third and final ODI will be held in Indore on Tuesday (January 24).