New Delhi: The Indian cricket team is once again struggling in a test match in South Africa, as once again, the Indian top order fell flat on their face in the SENA country.
India, who walked into the test series after winnings the ODI series and levelling the T20I series, were expected to exhibit a sensible batting performance in the test, but their struggle in the red ball cricket outside the nation continues as they lost their six wickets on just 121.
Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer steady ship for #TeamIndia with a 67* run partnership in the first session.#TeamIndia 91/3 at Lunch on Day 1 of the 1st Test.
Scorecard – https://t.co/032B8Fmvt4 #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/18p2abb5D6
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 26, 2023
However, Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli did put up a fight for the fourth wicket as the men in blue lost their top 3 with just 24 runs on the board.
Notably, the star Indian batsman, Shubman Gill, who after his own request was given the number three spot, once again failed to justify his request, as he departed on just 12 balls after Kagiso Rabada got him edged to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne.
As soon as Shubman Gill was gone, netizens took on X (Formerly known as Twitter) and started to give their take on the batsman, effectively sparking a meme fest.
Check out their reaction below:
Shubman Gill’s Test misery continues.#ShubmanGill #SAvIND #Cricket #Sportskeeda pic.twitter.com/rAYMYyfu7B
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) December 26, 2023
Shubman Gill supremacy 🫡 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zRntuOJuYy
— Veer (@_veerrr____) December 26, 2023
Shubman Gill in Test format:
Innings – 34
Average – 31.2He has played more number of innings than his batting average 🤣😭 pic.twitter.com/u4QCueIDpJ
— 𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥 56🇵🇰 (@SKIPPER_PCT) December 26, 2023
Shubman Gill in Test Cricket is what Duryodhan was in Mahabharat. Absolutely Useless but Secured spot 📍
| #ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/NLHZxw7hZC— 𝗦𝗶𝗥 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗶 🔱 (@imAnthoni_) December 26, 2023
Shubman Gill :
Give Me Freedom
Give Me Fire
Give Me Ahemdabad Flat Pitch
Give Me Shipley And Tickner Or
I’ll Retire pic.twitter.com/xeLd1t1sl2— Aufridi Chumtya (@ShuhidAufridi) December 26, 2023
Rare failure from Prince Shubman Gill
He will roar back in Ahmedabad soon 🥵💯#INDvsSA | #Gill | pic.twitter.com/T2OW1bAuQ5
— 🜲 (@balltampererrr) December 26, 2023
No Uganda
No UAE
No Bangladesh
No AhmedabadNo party for Shubman Gill in Sena Countries#IndvSA #Gill pic.twitter.com/vYkFO1i1Vf
— Sultan Khan (@MainHoonSultan7) December 26, 2023
Shubman gill plays for my team pic.twitter.com/aVBzJgksUQ
— Bruce pain (@BruceWayneJatt) December 26, 2023
Here are some Gill slanders made by me.
[A thread 🧵]1. My reaction to Ruturaj vs Shubman Gill debatepic.twitter.com/zPD0dl4bsZ
— Vector (@Vectorism_) December 26, 2023
Last 5 Test innings of Shubman Gill:
13
6
10
29
2Simply The Biggest Fraud. 😞 #SAvsIND pic.twitter.com/YLXF1dqRrc
— Kunal Yadav (@Kunal_KLR) December 26, 2023
As it happened
After the start got delayed due to the wet outfield, the Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and invited the Indian team to bat first.
🚨 Toss Update 🚨
South Africa have elected to bowl against #TeamIndia in the first #SAvIND Test.
Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/Zyd5kIcYso pic.twitter.com/LEz1tNBbbB
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 26, 2023
Indian top order never felt comfortable with the Centurion bounce as all the top three, Yashasvi Jaiswal (17), Rohit Sharma (5) and Shubman Gill (2), were dismissed with only 24 runs on the board.
Virat Kohli (38) and Shreyas Iyer (31) added 68 runs for the fourth wicket to rebuild the innings.
Virat Kohli 🐐 has arrived in style in South Africa….!!!!pic.twitter.com/l9jikTYLID
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 26, 2023
However, Kagiso Rabada, with three quick wickets, pushed India back into shell mode.
Shardul Thakur (24) tried to counterattack but was also removed by Rabada, who completed his fifer with his wicket.
By the time the article was written, India was at 170 for 7, with KL Rahul (34*) and Jasprit Bumrah (0*), on the crease.
