Shubman Gill in T20Is - 'Not a fantastic story at this point in time' - Aakash Chopra

After a 21-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the first T20I at Ranchi, former cricketer, Aakash Chopra, pointed out that the opening combination of Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill is not working well for India at the moment. He stated that the openers misfired once again and thus, India eventually failed to register a win.

Notably, Gill has a highest of only 36 in his last 12 innings in T20Is and thus, Chopra believes that it hasn't been a fantastic story for Gill in the shortest format of the game so far. He also stated that the start wasn't good for India and thus, the match slipped from their hands.

“It is a slightly misfiring top order. The start was not good. The ball hit Ishan Kishan's stumps. He has a highest of 36 in his last 12 innings in T20Is. Shubman Gill - the ball got stuck, and he got caught. Shubman Gill in T20Is - not a fantastic story at this point in time,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Suryakumar’s wicket was the game-changing moment: Chopra

Batting at number three, Rahul Tripathi once again failed to prove himself in International cricket, as the 31-year-old was dismissed for a duck. Thereafter, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya tried to bring the situation under control but none of them could inspire the Men in Blue to get the win in the first T20I.

After the match, Chopra mentioned that there were hopes until Suryakumar was batting but post that, it was difficult for India to get the win. Even though Washington Sundar played some brilliant cricket in the middle, chasing 176 proved to be an impossible task for the Hardik Pandya-led side.

“Rahul Tripathi - it is a slightly young career; it has just started but he couldn't open his account here, caught behind off Jacob Duffy's bowling - good use of the DRS. Then Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya were there. There were hopes until Surya was there," the former cricketer iterated.

Suryakumar Yadav hit an extremely beautiful six over cover, and then he was dismissed off the next ball. That I think was the game-changing moment. Hardik Pandya, who was already going a run-a-ball, also got out. Washington Sundar came and saved a little honour. He scored 50 runs and took the team very close, but it was always a losing cause, because Arshdeep, Mavi, Kuldeep - it was not going to happen. The task was totally out of India's reach after a point,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

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