Shubman Gill received flak from the fans after his batting failure in the first ODI against West Indies at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Thursday, July 25.
In the opening contest of the three-match series, West Indies batted first after losing the toss. The Indian bowlers performed in unison and skittled them out for a paltry 114 in just 23 overs. Kuldeep Yadav (4/6) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/37) spun a web around the Windies batters.
In a chase of 115, Shubman Gill (7) came out to open the innings with Ishan Kishan. The right-hander did not look comfortable during the entire duration of his 16-ball innings. The only boundary he scored was also not a convincing shot, as it came off a top edge that flew over the slip cordon.
West Indies pacer Jayden Seales pulled curtains on his innings in the fourth over as Gill edged the ball into the hands of the slip fielder. The latest knock extended Gill's lean run of form on the West Indies tour. In the two-match Test series before this match, he scored only 45 runs across three innings.
Fans observed the shortcomings of Shubman Gill in the ongoing West Indies tour. They conveyed their views by sharing memes on Twitter and Instagram. Here are some of the best ones:
Ishan Kishan steps up amid Shubman Gill's failure to help India take a 1-0 lead
Team India management kept experimenting with their batting order as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli went down the order to give chances to their younger peers. The move did not yield desired results, as none of them except Ishan Kishan (52) utilized the opportunity. The southpaw looked in ominous touch, as he smashed seven fours and a six.
After being reduced to 97/5, Rohit Sharma (12*) had to walk in and finish the game in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (16*). Speaking after the conclusion of the match, Rohit reflected on the win, saying:
"I never thought the pitch was gonna play like that. It was the team's need to bowl first. It had everything for seamers and spinners but to restrict them to that score was a superb effort from the bowlers. It did for a bit. We wanted to give chances to the other guys."
He added:
"We didn't think we would lose 5 wickets. We will keep trying those things as and when we feel it. We had the commanding position and decided to give some of the guys a go. Whenever we get an opportunity, we will try to accommodate those guys."
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