The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru witnessed an unexpected turn of events during the third and final T20I of the three-match series between India and Afghanistan on Wednesday. The match saw India win the toss and opt to bat first, but the decision seemed to backfire when their top order crumbled like a house of cards, leaving fans with mixed emotions.
The rapid fall of wickets for India
The fall of wickets came swiftly, leaving the home team reeling at 22-4. The early departure of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Virat Kohli, and Sanju Samson sent shockwaves through the stadium, and the virtual world erupted with a cacophony of reactions. Jaiswal, who had shown promise in the series, managed only four runs off six balls.
Virat Kohli’s rare golden duck
The real jolt, however, came with the departure of Kohli, who faced just one ball before falling victim to Fareed Ahmad Malik. It marked Kohli’s first golden duck in T20Is, a rare sight that left fans in disbelief.
Sanju Samson’s golden duck
Samson, who had replaced Jitesh Sharma in the lineup, also faced a golden duck courtesy of Malik’s exceptional bowling. The dismissal was a result of a mistimed pull shot that ended up in the safe hands of the mid-off fielder. The short ball strategy seemed to be paying off for Afghanistan, with India’s top-order crumbling faster than anyone could have anticipated.
Fareed Ahmad Malik emerges as the nemesis
Fareed emerged as the nemesis for India, claiming three crucial wickets, including those of Kohli and Samson. The dismissals were a result of intelligent bowling, exploiting the weaknesses of the Indian batters.
Also READ: Mohammed Shami reveals what should be the criteria for selection in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad
Memes and melancholy: Fans come up with mixed reactions
As the news of Kohli and Samson’s golden ducks spread, fans flooded social media with a myriad of reactions. While some expressed genuine sadness at witnessing their cricketing heroes fail, others chose a lighter approach, sparking a meme fest that took the internet by storm.
As the match continued, the mixed reactions from fans continued to pour in. Memes circulated, humour providing a coping mechanism for some, while others anxiously awaited the team’s recovery. One thing was for certain – cricket, with its unpredictability, never fails to keep fans on the edge of their seats.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
#ShashiTharoor to #SanjuSamson, after yet another failure.#INDvsAFG #INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/yBhyHoeuud
— Bakarwaar 🐐 (@bakarwaar) January 17, 2024
Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson golden duck pic.twitter.com/m31SXuJaae
— Pr𝕏tham (@Prxtham_18) January 17, 2024
Moye Moye scenes for Rajasthan Royals 😂😂#INDvAFG #RohitSharma #ViratKohli #SanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/gZGZvroUvD
— Cypher (@cypher_twitty) January 17, 2024
Golden duck for king Kohli at chinnaswamy stadium. 😭 pic.twitter.com/GJFFdiUVyD
— ADITYA 🇮🇳 (@troller_Adi18) January 17, 2024
The reaction says it all 💔🥺
#INDvsAFG #ViratKohli duck for Sanju samson pic.twitter.com/rgUZd7KvIq
— ✮✬✭ (@Blizzardofblue_) January 17, 2024
Kohli after watching Rohit’s duck😂 pic.twitter.com/PE77Af0EPt
— Abhishek (@be_mewadi) January 17, 2024
Now a golden duck for Sanju Samson. Oh my!
What is happening? Somebody dig deep until the 20th over. #INDvsAFG pic.twitter.com/sEmTBOYUOS— Ridhima Pathak (@PathakRidhima) January 17, 2024
#INDvsAFG
Rohit and Kohli sharing Golden Duck… pic.twitter.com/oosM6iYvA7— 🇮🇳 رومانا (@RomanaRaza) January 17, 2024
When Rohit Sharma making some runs all Indian batters be like .#INDvsAFG #RohitSharma #ShivamDube #YashasviJaiswal #CricketTwitter #Sanjusamson pic.twitter.com/1B7AZwQhPJ
— Zunx (@Zunx11) January 17, 2024
Sanju Samson to his luck#INDvsAFG | pic.twitter.com/zrDInUKruc
— Priyanka 🪷 (@Oyepriyankasun) January 17, 2024
Virat Kohli got duck for the first time in his t20i career . pic.twitter.com/MDaWkR1fA7
— Sohel. (@SohelVkf) January 17, 2024
Sanju Samson needs to play a career defining knock today otherwise it’s over for him. pic.twitter.com/f0ZWZwulim
— Pr𝕏tham (@Prxtham_18) January 17, 2024
So India were looking at Jitesh Sharma as a wicket keeping option for World Cup. And then, bench him after two games to do tokenism with Sanju Samson in what is India’s last game before the World Cup in June. They had Ishan Kishan in the mix but apparently someone is not happy…
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) January 17, 2024
Sanju Samson😭 pic.twitter.com/8qkXitCmp3
— Pulkit🇮🇳 (@pulkit5Dx) January 17, 2024
Kohli to Rohit after getting out on duck: pic.twitter.com/UJwXcvYd04
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) January 17, 2024
