Team India has been dealt with a huge blow as their opener Shubman Gill walked off retired hurt after scoring 79 runs in the first semifinal against New Zealand at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. The opening batter was batting well and looked set to go past the 100-run mark. But in the 23rd over of the innings, Gill seemed to have clutched his hamstring as he hobbled while taking a single and eventually walked off.
However, the Punjab cricketer will be allowed to bat later if a wicket falls. The scenes in the middle indicated it was Rohit Sharma who indicated his opening partner not to risk the injury and come off if he is not feeling 100%. Prasidh Krishna was the man passing on the message to his teammate while the physio was having a look at Gill.
Soon after the message was conveyed, Shubman Gill walked back with a grimace on his face. He was batting so well and looked set to score a brilliant century. The Indian fans will now hope for him to recover soon and return to the field to pile the agony on the New Zealand bowlers.
Meanwhile, it was Rohit Sharma who got the team off to a superb start scoring 47 runs off 29 balls with 4 sixes and as many fours to his name. The opening stand of 71 runs in less than nine overs set the tone for the team and since then, the hosts haven't looked back with Virat Kohli also scoring a brilliant half-century, his 72nd in ODI cricket.
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
