The first innings of the ongoing T20I game between India and England was not a sight to embrace, at least for the Indian fans. The men in blue had a horrific start to the game as top-order collapsed to the English bowling unit. This is the third T20I in the five-match series, and the hosts have opened the innings with different pairs in each game, but in vain. Following the return of Rohit Sharma, fans were hoping for a steady start, but were frustrated as Hitman couldn't build on his start. Moreover, with KL Rahul's dismal form continuing, things took a tragic turn for India at Ahmedabad. This has left fans fuming on social media with several players from top-order line-up trending.
Indian batting line-up crumbled before English speedster Mark Wood, as the team lost three wickets within first 5 overs. The first one to return to pavilion was KL Rahul, who has now scored a total of 1 run in his last 4 appearances. Following him, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan joined the list in quick succession. If fortune was not bad enough, Indian fans then had to witness Rishabh Pant getting Run Out. However, Virat Kohli, then, well and truly played a captain's innings to keep the hosts in the game.
Twitter erupts after roller-coaster Indian innings:
All the incidents sparked Indian fans as well as English fans on the Twitter. While Mark Wood and Virat Kohli got all the plaudits, KL Rahul's name trended with strong support. Here is how fans reacted:
One or two matches doesn't decide what kind of player u are ? @klrahul11 come back stronger Champ? Come back as a player what u are known for? KL Rahul #Klrahul #INDvENG #INDvsEND #SuryakumarYadav pic.twitter.com/D3Xnf9PNEL
— Prãsáñth❣️ (@dhuvi007) March 16, 2021
Most T20i 50s as Captain :
Virat Kohli - 11
Kane Williamson - 11 pic.twitter.com/1YNBSAJ2KZ
— Klɐns ? (@BatasariTweets) March 16, 2021
Na na na na na na na
Mark woods on fire your pretend horse is gonna get a ride
Na na na na na na na na #INDvENG #cricket
— Bretsta1876 (@BretstaFesta) March 16, 2021
Under Virat's captaincy in T20Is , Virat Kohli had sacrificed his No 3 position for 20 times in 41 innings.
7 times for Raina
4 times for KL Rahul
2 times each for Iyer , Pant and Dube
1 times each for Samson, Pandya
And now for Ishan Kishan.
But but selfish dawww
— ` (@Dhanushvk_) March 16, 2021
Some matches can't decide how good you are! Same thing happened with VK in past. There is match so take it like a game. He's champ and he'll be come back with a bang.
KL Rahul fan forever ?@klrahul11 ❤️#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/sKbmMj0MAX
— Abhay (@abhu_0701) March 16, 2021
All the haphazard reactions kept flowing in throughout the tenure of the innings that India finished at 156/5. While Twitter trends started with KL Rahul first, they gradually shifted to Mark Woods, before finishing off with Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper gained plaudits for hitting back on his critics and rescuing India with a heroic knock.