India, Oct. 1 -- There are innings that embellish a career, and then there are innings that alter the scale on which that career must be judged. Shubman Gill's unbeaten 223 in Guwahati belonged emphatically to the second category. West Indies had piled up 405 for seven, and India needed 8.12 an over from the first ball. Gill responded not with desperation, but with command.

He reached his hundred in 62 balls, his double hundred in 117 and walked off unbeaten on 223 from 133 deliveries. India completed 406 for two in 43.3 overs, with 39 balls unused. Gill supplied 54.9 per cent of the chase and struck at 167.67, yet the most revealing feature was how little of it looked improvised.

That matters because Gill's numbers now demand a differe...