Shubman Gill was looking set for his maiden World Cup 2023 century, and that too in a knockout match – semi-final against New Zealand. However a bout of cramps, or, hopefully not, some sort of discomfort of injury, forced him to leave the field with 79 runs to his name.
In a repeat of the 2019 WC semi-final in Manchester, India and New Zealand faced off again for the World Cup 2023 semi-final on Wednesday at the Wankhede stadium.
Captain Rohit Sharma gave the team another thunderous start by smashing 47 runs in 29 balls, taking down the likes of Trent Boult, Tim Southee, and Mitchell Santner, before succumbing to Southee via an excellent catch by Kane Williamson.
As Rohit teed off, Gill played smartly, defending his wicket, rotating the strike, and finding an odd boundary. In the 71-run opening partnership, Gill scored only 21 runs in 21 balls, without wasting time or deliveries.
After Rohit got out, Shubman Gill took over the mantle of keeping the attack going as Virat Kohli took his early time to settle down. Kohli and Gill shared a partnership of 93* (86) in which Gill scored 58 runs in 44 balls, keeping the pressure on the Kiwis.
However, when Gill was on 79* in 65 balls, the youngster went down on the ground. The physio came running in, along with a couple of substitutes who had drinks for Gill. The physio attended Gill for a while before the opener walked off.
Why did Shubman Gill leave the field? Did Shubman Gill retire hurt?
Batting on 79*, Shubman Gill struggled with what seemed cramps in the Mumbai heat. He couldn’t bat any more at that instant and hence left the field. Fans are hoping that it’s just cramps and not any injury as he was also seen clutching his hamstring.
Teams:
New Zealand (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson(c), Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tom Latham(w), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
