‘Pehle gaali, phir taali’ – Fans react as Shubman Gill makes up for previous miss with exceptional catch to get rid of Marcus Stoinis in first ODI

Star India opener Shubman Gill was visibly upset with himself after dropping a simple chance to give Marcus Stoinis a reprieve off Mohammed Shami’s bowling. When he was unable to hold onto the ball, Gill, who was positioned in the slip cordon, was spotted verbally abusing out of frustration.

Australia all-rounder Cameron Green was sent back by seasoned Indian spinner Mohammed Shami with an absolute peach. Marcus Stoinis could have been the next coveted victim, but Shubman Gill dropped an easy catch. Gill made amends, though, by hanging onto a great catch to dismiss Stoinis in Shami’s very next over.

India need 189 runs to win the first ODI against Australia

Talking of the game, India won the toss and chose to bowl first. Australia captain Steve Smith was content with the decision as he said it was a good toss to lose, with him unsure of what to do had he won the toss. India dropped a masterful bowling display led by the pace duo of Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. Both speedsters returned with three wickets each.

The star of the recently concluded Test series, Ravindra Jadeja, returned with two wickets as Kuldeep Yadav and skipper Hardik Pandya returned with a wicket a piece. Australia were bundled out for 188 within 35.4 overs.

For the visitors, Mitchell Marsh remained the star with 81 runs scored off 65 balls as Australia went off to a blazing start, with the opener taking the game to the Indian bowlers. However, the visitors kept losing regular wickets, and Marsh aside, no other batter was up to the task of inspiring a recovery. India now has a customary chase ahead of them, requiring just 189 runs off 300 balls to win the first ODI and take the lead in the series.

Australia will become the number-one ranked team in ODIs if they manage to win the current ODI series against India. Although that remains a possibility, the visitors would have hoped for a much better start than what they got.

Here’s how fans reacted to Shubman Gill’s efforts on the field:  

Easy catches chod ke difficult wale pakadna koi inse seekhe.

— Yannaraskala (@Ranjan_Ashish96) March 17, 2023

https://twitter.com/RanjuSingh61723/status/1636682304495157249

Chalo lambe hone ka kuch to fayda hua

— AJ Amit (@ajamit64) March 17, 2023

Goat level captaincy from thalason pandya Australia would have easily scored 300+ if rohit sharma was captain today

— LA LA LAND ☭ (@Pratikeighteen) March 17, 2023

https://twitter.com/MrMindvsHeart/status/1636682087691616257

https://twitter.com/omg_bro_wtf/status/1636682108679716865

He is a good slip catcher /fielder . No big deal if every now and then someone drops a catch , it happens to the best of us sometimes. 😊

— Dr Prabhsimran singh Randhawa (@Prabhsimran047) March 17, 2023

https://twitter.com/KingOfCrick/status/1636683572240355330