‘Everybody looked rusty’ – Shubman Gill reflects on India’s shock defeat to Zimbabwe

Shubman Gill. (Source – Twitter/X)

Team India got off to a horrid start to their five-game T20I series against Zimbabwe. Both sides locked horns in the first T20I of the series at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday, July 6. After being limited to a score of 115 runs, Zimbabwe managed to limit India to a score of 102 and won the game by 13 runs.

Star batter Shubman Gill’s first outing as skipper did not go as planned. It is also worth noting that several players in the lineup have not had much game time recently, and this has been said to be as one of the biggest factors in India losing the game.

With the defeat, skipper Gill came forward to highlight the same point: how every player in the side looked rusty and how their fielding let them down through the clash.

“I think we bowled pretty well but I think we left ourselves down with the fielding. We weren’t up to our standards and I think everybody looked rusty,” Gill was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Very disappointed with the way I got out: Gill

Furthermore, Shubman Gill reflected on his dismissal in the first T20I against Zimbabwe. Opening the innings for the Men in Blue, Gill scored 31 runs in 29 deliveries before he was sent back to the pavilion. Top scoring for India, Gill revealed that the strategy for the side was to bat normally.

“Honestly, just take your time, enjoy the batting. Not too many runs on the board. So not much pressure but it wasn’t the way [the match] panned out. Halfway down, we had lost five wickets and it would have been best for us if I had stayed there to the end but unfortunately that didn’t happen. Very disappointed with the way I got out and the way this whole match turned out,” Gill said.