Overview:
The 26-year-old scored over 700 runs in the five-match Test series against England and followed it up with a hundred in the two red-ball matches against the visiting West Indies at home.
India captain Shubman Gill retired hurt in the first session of the second day’s play at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata after suffering a neck sprain. Gill arrived at the crease after Simon Harmer dismissed India’s all-rounder Washington Sundar.
The Proteas spinner was bowling from round the stumps to the No.4 batter, who defended the first delivery and then played a slog sweep for a boundary. However, he was in some discomfort after completing the stroke. The physio gave him treatment, but the batter was unable to move his head and left the field. Rishabh Pant replaced him. His injury is a big setback for India as the batter has been dealing in runs in the last few months.
The 26-year-old scored over 700 runs in the five-match Test series against England and followed it up with a hundred in the two red-ball matches against the visiting West Indies at home. However, Gill has been playing non-stop cricket, representing the Indian National Cricket Team across formats.
Shubman was also given the responsibility to lead the Men in Blue in the ODI format after the selectors sacked Rohit Sharma. He was India’s captain in the three-match ODI series against Australia and then competed in five T20Is Down Under. Gill is the vice-captain in the shortest format and is working under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav.
India will be hoping that Gill’s injury is not serious and that he returns to bat at the earliest. South Africa managed just 159 in their first innings, with none of the batters touching the 50-run mark. Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets, while Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav dismissed two batters each.
South Africa are in India to play two Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is. The host nation needs to win the series 2-0 to reach the second spot in the WTC standings.