"Never Compare this home track bully to King Babar Azam"- Fans react to Shubman Gill's batting failure in 3rd T20I against South Africa

Team India opener Shubman Gill faced criticism from the fans after his batting failure in the third T20I against South Africa at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Thursday, December 14.

South African skipper Aiden Markram won the toss and opted to bowl first in the contest. Gill hit three fours in the first over to get India off to a brisk start. Yashasvi Jaiswal also hit a flurry of boundaries in the next over as the visitors raced to 29/0 in two overs.

Markram then brought on his ace spinner, Keshav Maharaj, in the hope of putting a break on the flow of runs. The move paid rich dividends as Maharaj dismissed Shubman Gill off the second ball of the third over to give South Africa a much-needed breakthrough.

Shubman tried to play a sweep shot but failed to get a bat on it and got pinned on the front pad. The umpire adjudged him out almost immediately after the South Africans appealed.

Gill had a short chat with Jaiswal about taking a DRS review but eventually decided against it. Unfortunately, a while later, replays suggested that the ball missed the leg stump by a fair margin.

Fans were disappointed after the youngster's latest batting failure in the T20I format and expressed their frustration on the matter through reactions on X (formerly Twitter).

Here are some of the reactions from fans:

---

Brian Lara on Shubman Gill: "He will rule cricket in the coming years"

Former West Indies captain Brian Lara recently opined that Gill will rule the cricketing world in the coming years and has the potential to break his records. Speaking to Anandabazar Patrika, Lara said:

"Shubman Gill can break both my records. Gill is the most talented batter in this new generation. He will rule cricket in the coming years. If Gill plays County cricket then he can break my 501*."

Lara added:

"In Test cricket, he can surely go past 400. Cricket has changed a lot, especially batting. Batters play t20 leagues across the globe. IPL has changed everything. The scoring rate has gone up. So you will keep seeing big scores. Shubman will score big, mark my words."

Do you agree with Lara's views above? Sound off in the comments section below.