"I think he was unlucky" - Parthiv Patel comes to Shubman Gill's defense after 8-ball duck in IND vs BAN 2024 1st Test 

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel defended Shubman Gill's poor outing in the first innings of the first Test against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The right-handed batter was dismissed for an eight-ball duck by Hasan Mahmud in the first session of the series opener on Thursday, September 19.

Gill just about looked settled in the No. 3 role in the Test setup after a prolific home series against England. However, he failed to kickstart the crucial red-ball season on a bright note. After coming into bat following Rohit Sharma's dismissal in the sixth over, Hasan Mahmud handed him a testing time.

However, the nature of his dismissal left the fans incensed rather than the disappointing score. Gill tried to flick a delivery well down the leg side but ended up edging it to the wicketkeeper.

While social media was left raging, Parthiv Patel sympathized with the young batter, remarking that he was unlucky because of an 'instinctive' shot.

"I think he was unlucky. When you get out down the leg side, it is a bit of an instinctive shot. His game plan is to stay ahead of the popping crease. He stays almost half ahead of the popping crease," Parthiv Patel said on Jio Cinema during the Lunch Break on Day 1."

"He tries to negotiate that swing or seam, which a bowler is getting. But in cricket we say there are two unluckiest dismissals. One is to get run out at the non striker and or or you get out down the legside and caught behind and that's exactly what happened with Shubman Gill," he added.

This marks the fifth duck in Gill's Test career, interestingly his first duck came at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai against England back in 2021.

"Once you see that ball going down the leg side, your bat instinctively goes there" - Parthiv Patel on Shubman Gill's dismissal

Gill needed something to go his way to get off the mark in difficult conditions and a potent bowling unit. The batter seemingly had the opportunity to do so in style after being presented with a wayward delivery. However, it did not pan out in his favor on this occasion.

"You don't really leave that ball. Once you see that ball going down the leg side, your bat instinctively goes there and sometimes you know if you get a slightly better part of the bat, you may get it to a boundary. But otherwise, this time I thought Shubman was unlucky that he got a faint edge," Parthiv Patel said in the same interaction.

The dismissal reduced India to 28-2 in the eighth over, and the score had worsened to 34-3 soon after. Yashasvi Jaiswal's fifty has steered the innings, and as of writing, the hosts are placed at 136-4 after 38 overs.