In a low-scoring thriller played in Harare, Shubman Gill’s maiden game as captain of India did not go as planned. The team, which was made up of players attempting to transition from the IPL to international cricket, was found wanting.
During the post-match presentation, Gill implied that a number of the players on this tour may have been hindered by their lack of recent cricket experience. “We did a decent job of bowling, but I believe our fielding let us down. We didn’t perform to our usual level, and I felt like everyone appeared rusty.”
Conditions was another factor. The pitch in Harare was so slow that hitting over the line and over the top, which were the kinds of shots these batters were used to playing in the IPL, didn’t always work, even when sideways movement for the new ball halted. Four of India’s top six fell when attempting to push the pace, and five of them fell for single-digit scores.
Gill, who top-scored with 31 off 29 balls, stated that he told the team to bat regularly in between innings. To be honest, simply enjoy the batting and take your time. Not a lot of runs are scored. Not much pressure, yet the match didn’t go as planned.
“It would have been best for us if I had stayed there to the very end, but sadly that didn’t happen halfway through. We had lost five wickets.” Extremely unhappy with how this match went and how I was ejected.”
At the very end, Avesh Khan’s two knocks kept India in the hunt, bringing the score down to 18 off 12 balls. Gill was aware of the high odds, too, as they only had two wickets remaining at that point.
“Definitely there was a bit of hope for us,” he stated. “But you know when you are chasing 115 and you want your No. 10 batter to stay out there, something has gone wrong.”
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The second round of this five-match series is scheduled for Sunday, giving India an opportunity to quickly make up ground that they have lost.
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