"To get your place in WC23 squad you have to break the doors" - Twitterati miffed with Shubman Gill for not converting his fifty in the 1st ODI against New Zealand

Team India opening batter Shubman Gill recorded his fourth ODI half-century in the first ODI against New Zealand on Friday, November 25. But the youngster departed soon after, failing to convert his start into a big score at Eden Park in Auckland. That left quite a lot of fans on Twitter upset, as they were hoping he would make good use of his opportunity.

After missing out on making a potential debut appearance in the recently culminated T20I series against the Blackcaps, Gill was slotted straight at the top of the order for the ODIs. The right-handed batter continued his prolific partnership with stand-in skipper Shikhar Dhawan, putting up a solid 124-run partnership for the opening wicket.

The duo took their time against the new ball and a four-pronged New Zealand seam bowling unit. India scored only 40 runs in the powerplay, but picked up their pace after that.

Gill looked in sublime touch, making use of the short boundary dimensions to score three sixes in his innings. But the Punjab-born player's stint at the crease came to an abrupt end when he flicked a delivery on leg-stump by Lockie Ferguson straight to the man at deep square leg, who did not make a mistake.

Since his return to the ODI setup earlier this year, Gill has managed to get a start on almost every occasion. But he has just the one century to his name so far.

Twitterati feel that Gill needs to make the most of his chances to cement his case for the ODI World Cup next year. Here are some of the reactions:

Team India lose Shikhar Dhawan's wicket shortly after Gill's dismissal

As mentioned earlier, Gill's departure brought the curtains down on a solid opening stand. Skipper Dhawan followed suit soon after, courtesy of a soft dismissal.

The left-handed batter chipped a ball straight to Finn Allen at point, to bring two new batters to the crease. Dhawan departed after scoring 72 runs off 77 deliveries, marking his first ODI fifty in five matches.

At the time of writing, India were placed at 140-2 after 27 overs. Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer are currently trying to rebuild the Indian innings, even as New Zealand look to get a tighter grip on the long Indian batting unit.

Should Shubman Gill work on converting his innings into a more substantial and impactful score? Let us know what you think.

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