Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra highlighted that Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s dismissals in the second ODI against New Zealand reminded him of the ODI World Cup 2023 final against Australia.

Gill was dismissed after scoring 56 runs when he tried to play a pull shot but was caught by Daryl Mitchell. Rohit Sharma, who made 24, was caught at deep square when he was looking to play the ball over the covers. Virat Kohli chopped the ball back on to his stumps and was dismissed after scoring 23 runs. 

The Rajkot pitch was on the slow side and the Indian batters could not get going after they were put into bat by Michael Bracewell.

“The way Shubman Gill got out reminded me of November 19 again because he got out similarly to (Mitchell) Starc’s ball. He was not alone. How had Rohit Sharma gotten out? He got out towards the deep off Glenn Maxwell’s bowling. It almost seemed like the highlights of the India-Australia match,” Chopra said on YouTube Channel.

“How had Virat Kohli gotten out? He played on against (Pat) Cummins, and he too got played on. So the three dismissals were almost identical. Reminded me of November 19, and people say men move on. We don’t move on. We don’t talk, but it pains the heart,” he added.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill scored 56 runs off 71 balls in the series opener however he looked more fluent in the second game, scoring 56 off 53 balls.

Reflecting on Gill’s knock, Chopra said, “Shubman Gill needs to be spoken about because he has scored two back-to-back fifties. Interestingly enough, Shubman might not have thought about this, but it’s the truth that he won’t be in action till the IPL after January 18. He was the T20I vice-captain recently and is now not even part of the T20 team. His life has changed quite a bit. However, he scored a scratchy fifty in the first match and a fluent fifty in this match,” he said.

The third ODI between India and New Zealand will be played at Indore on Sunday.