Watch: Gautam Gambhir's priceless reaction to KL Rahul's sublime six goes viral — IND vs AFG 1st ODI
The Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, gave a priceless reaction to the sublime six of KL Rahul during the opening ODI between India and Afghanistan in Dharamsala.
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During India’s run-chase in the opening ODI of the three-match series against Afghanistan at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, KL Rahul smashed a six over the covers with a drive to which Gautam Gambhir’s priceless reaction went viral around the social media platform.
With Ishan Kishan keeping wickets and Rahul being slotted at number three in the team sheet, many reckoned the latter would come out to bat after the unfortunate run-out of Rohit Sharma in the rain-curtailed 25-over clash between the two sides.
Viral moment: Gambhir's dugout reaction to Rahul's six has the internet laughing
However, in the 195-run chase, the Indian management decided to send the left-handed batter, Ishan Kishan, at number three to partner their captain and opening batter, Shubman Gill. Meanwhile, they didn’t change the number five position of Rahul with just around 18 months to go before the next ODI World Cup 2027 in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
Watch Gambhir's priceless reaction here-
Rahul was cautious to start with in the chase before picking up the pace in the 22nd over of the second innings. He clubbed the first ball of Zia Ur Rahman over the bowler’s head for a supreme six before smashing the bowler for two successive boundaries.
But the shot that was extraordinary and brought out the reaction of India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, came on the last delivery of the over. The right-handed batter leaned forward and played an exquisite lofted cover-drive as the ball soared over the ropes for a six.
Match summary: KL Rahul's aggressive 39* at no. 5 steers India home against Afghanistan
The Karnataka batter nailed the third ball of the next over into the gap between cover and extra cover for a boundary before lifting the slower ball over the mid-off region for the same result. He remained unbeaten on 39 runs off 19 balls with the help of four boundaries and three sixes.
On the other hand, Gill, who perhaps had a dream of getting to his century, had to be satisfied with an unbeaten 84 runs off 66 balls at a strike rate of 127.27, thanks to 11 boundaries and two sixes to complete Inda’s seven-wicket run.
It was their 23rd victory in 30 ODI chases since 2023, at a win percentage of 76.6, the best among all Test-playing nations.
“I think the way we started, and then they pulled the game away from us. Gurbaz batted brilliantly. The way he got his century was brilliant. But I think the way we pulled back in the middle overs and the death overs was brilliant.” Gill said at the end of the game as India took a 1-0 lead.
Fan reactions: Cricket Twitter can't stop sharing Gambhir's priceless dugout expression
Here is how the fans on Twitter celebrated the priceless reaction of Gambhir on Rahul’s six-
Follow live scorecard of India vs Afghanistan 1st ODI in Dharamsala-
India- 195/3 (Shubman Gill 84*, KL Rahul 39, Rashid Khan 1/37) beat Afghanistan 194 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 102, Gurnoor Brar 3/27) by 7-wickets.
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