Ajinkya Rahane Tears Into 'Captain' Shubman Gill, Points Out Big Mistake

Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips smashed spectacular centuries as New Zealand piled up a massive total of 338 against India in the third ODI in Indore on Sunday. Despite taking two wickets in the first two overs, India failed to capitalize on the early momentum, as Mitchell and Phillips stitched a 219-run partnership, batting together for nearly 30 overs. At the mid-innings break, former India Test captain Ajinkya Rahane criticised Shubman Gill's captaincy, stating that he had missed a trick on the field. In an interesting turn of events, India spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja only bowled six overs each, with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy bowling eight overs in the middle despite not picking up a wicket.

"Personally, I think Shubman missed a trick by bowling only three overs of Kuldeep in the middle overs, and then he was waiting till the 37th-38th over. Even Jadeja being held back till the 30th over, those are the guys who can get you the wickets. That is where India went slightly wrong," Rahane said, speaking on Cricbuzz.

Legendary India pacer Zaheer Khan expanded on Rahane's criticism, stating that Jadeja, in particular, should've been bowled earlier.

"More than Kuldeep, it is Ravindra Jadeja's inclusion in the bowling attack very late that was the problem. Maybe the thought was to give Nitish Reddy a bit more game time and overs under his belt in a match situation, but because of that, you get a bit hamstrung with your options," Zaheer added.

Kuldeep and Jadeja felt the full wrath of Mitchell and Phillips when they came in to bowl near the 40th over, as both Kiwi batters accelerated to complete their hundreds. Both spinners finished with economy rates in excess of more than a run-a-ball.

Mitchell completed his fourth century in his last seven ODIs against India, scoring 137.

Topics mentioned in this article

Shubman Gill Ajinkya Rahane India Cricket Team India vs New Zealand 2026 Cricket