ENG vs IND | Twitter stunned as Gill blots impressive start to captaincy with blooper of the year

India were put into bat on a green top at The Oval under overcast skies in the fifth Test against England and the hosts immediately reaped rewards by dispatching Yashasvi Jaiswal in just the fourth over. His fellow opener KL Rahul departed soon after for 14 but the well-versed pair of Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill steadied the ship for India with a sedate 34-run stand through to Lunch. The pair continued to look comfortable after the extended break due to rain as the clouds hauntingly remained on the horizon. However, before the heavens could open to enforce a second break, Gill threw away his wicket in a manner that would be discussed for generations to come given the potential impact it can have on the series scoreline.

Gill, the leading run-scorer in the series by a mile, had once again made his way past 20 and seemed set for another big score. When Gus Atkinson steamed in to bowl the second delivery of the 28th over and was met by the middle of the captain's bat in resolute defence, the notion only grew stronger. However, in a dizzying moment, the 25-year-old batter without provocation sprinted out of his crease even as the Dukes ended up just a couple meters away from Atkinson. The right-arm quick wasted no time in hurrying to the ball and made no mistake in hurling the stumps down from a few yards out to signal the end of Gill's knock. The number-four batter could not believe the grave error he had commited without reason, as he hung his head in shame while his rivals wheeled around in celebration.

India thus stand at 85/3 awaiting for play to start and considering how crucial the captain has been to the team's success, Twitterati was left fearing the worst.

Oh lord!

Gone

Sad

Absolutely solid

Yup

Gone

Terrible

Legacy

Gill gone

LOL