Shubman Gill-led Team India commenced their five-match T20I away series against Zimbabwe on Saturday with the 1st T20I taking place at the Harare Sports Club. After winning the toss, India decided to bowl first and restricted the hosts to 115 runs, however, their batting collapse resulted in a flood of reactions from the fans on social media.
After deciding to bowl first, the Men in Blue picked up nine wickets to restrict Zimbabwe to 115 runs. India spinner Ravi Bishnoi picked up four wickets in his 4-over spell with two maiden overs while all-rounder Washington Sundar picked up two in his four with an economy rate of 2.75.
However, Shubman Gill’s side faced a major setback as they lost four wickets in the starting five overs. While IPL stars Abhishek Sharma of the Punjab Kings and Rinku Singh of the Kolkata Knight Riders went out for a duck, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Riyan Parag lost their wickets at 7 and 2 respectively. The match against Zimbabwe marked the international debut for Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag while Dhruv Jurel made his T20I debut.
In the 10th over Dhruv Jurel lost his wicket at 6 runs with 43 runs on the board. Although skipper Shubman Gill held the crease from one end and kept runs coming for Team India, he lost his wicket on the second ball of the 11th over at 31 runs.
Fans took to social media and reacted to Indian batters’ wickets. Check the viral reactions: