Team India started their tour of the West Indies with a thrilling three-run victory over the Nicholas Pooran-led side but India opener Shubman Gill became a butt of jokes on social media. While Shubman Gill hit a quickfire fifty on his ODI return in the first game of the three-match series against the West Indies at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain on Friday, his innings came to an abrupt end after a direct hit from the West Indies skipper. Before getting run-out Shubman Gill was engaged in a 119-run opening partnership with Shikhar Dhawan and went back to the pavilion for a score of 64 off 53 deliveries.

Before Nicholas Pooran cut short his knock, Shubman Gill looked imperious and was on course to slam his maiden hundred in the 50-over format. But a silly mistake from him cost him his wicket.

Following his departure, a section of Indian cricket supporters took to Twitter to slam him for his casual approach while running between the wickets. Some fans even called him “lazy”, while others labeled his mistake a “school boy error”.

“Bhaagna practice karo Gill Bhai…!!! Running between the wickets is poor and pathetic…!!!” a fan tweeted.

“Such runouts made us remember the Legend of laziest Runouts “Inzamam-ul-Haq”. He has got good Competition Now. I think Yo-Yo Test is Stopped,” another wrote on the micro-blogging platform.

“Shubman Gill – Lazy elegance and Lazy running between the wicket,” a third claimed.

“Shubman Gill making a school boy error of casually taking the single and not expecting the fielder to throw at his end… great pick up and throw by Nicholas Pooran. Sad ending to a great innings.. missed out on an easy century and possibly a huge score,” a fourth declared.

While Shubman Gill was at the crease, his alleged girlfriend Sara Tendulkar, the daughter of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, was trending on Twitter. Several social media users posted hilarious memes and tweets to laud Shubman Gill's effort in the first ODI while mentioning his name alongside Sara Tendulkar in their posts.

“Sara Tendulkar will be very pleased after watching Shubman Gill batting tonight,” a fan said.

“Your father must be a proud man! Well play Sara Tendulkar,” a second stated.
En route to his score of 64, Shubman Gill went past Sachin Tendulkar to become the second youngest Indian batter to smash an ODI half-century in the Caribbean.

Virat Kohli is on top of the list as he scored his fifty at the age of 22 years and 215 days while Gill took 22 years and 317 days to achieve the feat.

Youngest Indian to Score Half-Century in West Indies in ODIs

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Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan who was the fulcrum of India's batting with his score of 97 was delighted to help the visitors to a narrow 3-run victory. Needing 309 to win, the West Indies were restricted to 305/6 as they fell short of India's target of 308/7 by three runs.

Captain Shikhar Dhawan who missed his hundred by three runs, however, said that while he was a bit disappointed to miss out on another century, he was happy to see his team win the match.

“It was disappointing but grateful for 97. I enjoyed it. It was difficult as it was holding a bit and turned. When Shubman, Shreyas and I were batting, we wanted to go big and make it easy for the youngsters,” Shikhar Dhawan said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

“We had nerves as we didn't expect them to come this close. Fine leg went back and two three boundaries were stopped there which helped. We thought of using the bigger side, we gave doubles to the fine leg. One of them should have been a run out but not everyday is a perfect day. We have to get better,” Shikhar Dhawan added.

Nicholas Pooran, on the other hand, urged his teammates to stay positive after losing the thrilling contest by three runs.

“Feels like a win for us. Bittersweet, but yeah we keep talking about batting 50 overs and everyone saw what we are capable of and hopefully we can go strength to strength from here,” Nicholas Pooran said after West Indies' loss.

“Looking forward to the rest of the series. It was a good batting track and our bowlers did a commendable job to restrict them. It's difficult to lose but we will take this one. We need to believe in each other and I keep telling everyone that we will have our challenges, but important to focus on the positives,” Nicholas Pooran mentioned.