The Indian National Cricket Team’s young opening duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill have joined Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane on an unwanted list in T20I cricket.
Gill and Jaiswal were chosen as openers for the second T20I of the three-match series against the South Africa National Cricket Team at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Tuesday, December 12. Ruturaj Gaikwad was also an available opening option for India, but fell ill and therefore missed selection.
India were invited to bat first in the match against the Proteas and got off to a terrible start. Both the openers performed terribly and bagged ducks.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was the first to fall when Marco Jansen dismissed him on the third ball of the first over. The left-arm quick bowled a short ball outside off and Jaiswal tried to cut it but he played it straight into Miller’s hands for a 3-ball duck.
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill was dismissed on the last ball of the second over which was bowled by Lizaad Williams. The pacer bowled a length ball heading towards Gill and the opener was caught LBW. He was dismissed for a 2-ball duck and left India struggling at 6/2.
This was only the second time in the history of Indian cricket that an opening pair bagged ducks in a T20I match. The first Indian opening duo to achieve this unwanted feat was that of Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane.
Both Indian openers score duck in T20I match:
Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane vs Pakistan (2016)
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill vs South Africa (2023)
Very important series for us – Shubman Gill
Speaking to broadcasters ahead of the second T20I, Shubman Gill stated that the ongoing T20I series is very important for them as they have only a handful of T20I matches left to play before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He stated:
“Very important series for us. There are only five more matches left before the IPL. So in terms of that, it’s very important. I haven’t had many T20Is under my belt, so this series and the three matches in India will be very important.
“It’s about staying in a good mental place and then executing your shots. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s a game of bat and ball. It is about facing the situation and that is what I focus on,” he further stated.
