Shubman Gill was recalled in the playing XI for the fifth and final Test against Australia in Sydney. The 25-year-old, who was dropped for the previous encounter in Melbourne, was included in place of Rohit Sharma. However, the batter didn't have the best of outing as he once again threw away a decent start.
Gill was dismissed on the final delivery before Lunch on Day 1 as he charged down the track against Nathan Lyon but went for a defensive push instead. In doing so the ball took a leading edge off Gill's bat and went straight towards Steve Smith at slips, who completed the rest. Gill lasted for 64 deliveries in which he accumulated 20 runs, which featured two boundaries.
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However, Gill's wicket may have been a result of the antics by close-in fielders Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. The duo kept chirping from behind the stumps, which also led to a reaction from Gill. Here's how the banter unfolded between the Aussies and Gill right before the ball he was dismissed.
pic.twitter.com/5hxO3iriil
smithy (@stevesmith50) January 3, 2025
Marnus: "Go Garry, go Garry"
Shubman Gill taps his bat on the pitch
Smith: "This is bulls**t"
Gill: "You take your time Smithy, nobody says anything to you"
Marnus: "Yeah you do"
Smith: "Let's play"
Marnus: "Take your time Smithy"
Smith: "I will"
Meanwhile, India find themselves in all sorts of trouble after Jasprit Bumrah, stand-in skipper, won the toss and opted to bat. The visitors lost KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal cheaply, while Virat Kohli, on the other hand, survived an early scare, which almost saw him get out for a golden duck.
Watch: Virat Kohli fails to learn from mistakes, pays price for poking ball outside off-stump in Sydney
Kohli and Gill then took India beyond 50 before Nathan Lyon packed the latter for 20 right at the stroke of Lunch, reducing the tourists to 57/3 at the SCG. Kohli then fell prey to back of a length delivery pitched outside off-stump and was caught at slips for 17. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja then stitched 46 runs for the fifth wicket before Scott Boland rejoined the party and removed Pant (40) and Nitish Reddy in consecutive deliveries.
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