Shubman Gill (Source :Twitter)
The forecasted replication of the strategy employed by the Indian team in the second T20I was not quite realized by Shubman Gill & Co. despite opting to bat first for the third consecutive time after winning the toss.
India raced to 15 runs off a tentative first over bowled by Brian Benett, highlighted by an overstepped delivery cleverly guided wide of short-third. Gill seemingly took it as a personal challenge, evident in how he began his innings and injected much-needed momentum. India got off to a blistering start in the powerplay, accumulating 55 runs and poised for a significantly higher total.
A significant shift occurred in Gill’s innings when Jaiswal was dismissed on the first delivery of the eighth over, followed by Abhishek Sharma, the centurion of the previous game, falling victim to Raza for the second time in the day. Following these dismissals, one might have expected Gill to adopt a more conservative approach, a strategy he indeed employed. He allowed Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had scored a majestic 77* in the previous game, to take on the role of setting the aggressive tempo.
Gaikwad was in full flow, accelerating to 36 runs off 23 balls before Gill’s dismissal. Unfortunately, he was caught at deep point on the third-last ball of the innings, concluding a rapid-fire innings of 49 runs off 28 balls. Nonetheless, India had already secured a competitive total, finishing at 182/4.
Here’s how X reacted to the first innings of the third T20I:
India captain Shubman Gill’s composed innings of 66 powered India to a comprehensive total in Harare.#ZIMvIND 📝: https://t.co/ySuVs9CX9F pic.twitter.com/NlxPvUP8Ln
— ICC (@ICC) July 10, 2024
Captain Gill comes to the party and puts #TeamIndia in a formidable position. 👊
A wicket that our bowlers would enjoy defending this score on. Let’s go! 😎#PlayBold #ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/pF2DBLWhvF
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) July 10, 2024
Internet merchant Jaiswal – 133 SR
Prince Gill – 134 SRStatpadder Ruturaj Gaikwad – just 175 SR#ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/AHlYeD1LFf
— Navneet MSDian 🚩 (@MSDian067) July 10, 2024
Only 3 Indians have now scored more than 500 T20I runs at an average of 35+ & strike rate of 140+
Suryakumar Yadav
Rinku SinghRUTURAJ GAIKWAD#ZIMvIND
— Mohit Shah (@mohit_shah17) July 10, 2024
Well played, captain Shubman Gill.
66 (49) with 7 fours and 3 sixes – a captain’s knock by Gill..👌👌👌
.#Thangalaan #ZIMvIND #SonakshiSinha #TestCricket Rinku #GautamGambhir pic.twitter.com/EBKSkljtxP— Abhishek Awasthi (@Abhishe41411796) July 10, 2024
JAISWAL IS HERE 🥰 #ZIMvIND #KwiriTravels pic.twitter.com/V1LvbZn7aE
— larry kwirirayi ✍📔 (@kwirirayi) July 10, 2024
Why gill opens in cricket if he is not a striker and u can’t hold a position just because of u r captain of the team….gill must play at number 3 #ZIMvIND #Gill #Selfish
— VK_18_🇮🇳🇮🇳 (@viratkkohli18) July 10, 2024
Amazing knock by @ShubmanGill #ZIMvIND
Meanwhile Dont know why Pakistani fans are creeping on this tweet. BLA BLA BLA pic.twitter.com/P61qf7hFNu
— Aloysius Fernandes (@Aloy_Ferns) July 10, 2024
Well Played Ruturaj Gaikwad 49(28) 🇮🇳❤️🔥#ZIMvIND #RuturajGaikwad #WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/lxuBWSmqXI
— जंबारू (@jambr123356) July 10, 2024
Ruturaj Gaikwad has hit 4 fours and 3 sixes . 4+3=7 . Thala for a reason 😂. #ZIMvIND
— Mahesh Samuel (@MaheshSamuel4) July 10, 2024