Shubman Gill matches Virat Kohli's unwanted record after losing to Australia in ODI captaincy debut for India

India skipper Shubman Gill's ODI captaincy debut for India was marred by a sour seven-wicket loss to Australia in the series opener in Perth on October 19. The loss was not only a disappointing start for the new captain but also marked India's first ODI defeat of the year. Australia chose to bowl first after winning the toss, a decision that proved astute as India's top-order collapsed.

Gill's captaincy start and India's top-order failure

The early dismissals set a challenging tone for India. Former captains Rohit Sharma (8) and Virat Kohli (0) failed to fire on their return to international cricket after a seven-month absence, and the current captain himself, Shubman Gill, managed just 10 runs. Following four separate rain breaks, India managed to post a total of 136 on the board, largely thanks to crucial knocks from KL Rahul (38) and Axar Patel (31). In reply, the target was revised to 131, which the hosts chased down comfortably with 29 balls to spare, securing a seven-wicket victory.

ALSO READ: 8 runs and 8-ball duck: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's international return turns short-lived as Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc prey on them

Gill's unwanted captaincy record

The loss in Perth saddles Gill with the unusual distinction of having lost his debut game as captain of India in all three formats of the game. He first captained the Indian team in a T20I series against Zimbabwe last year. Although India went on to win that series 4-1, they were defeated in the opening match.

Earlier this year, Gill also captained the Test team for the first time during the five-match series against England. In the opening game at Leeds, the right-handed batter marked his debut with a century, but the team still ended up losing the match by five wickets. Following the recent ODI defeat in Perth, Gill now holds the embarrassing record of losing his debut game as captain for India in all three formats (Test, ODI, and T20I).

ALSO READ: 'Don't take it personally....': Virat Kohli recalls Kevin Pietersen's advice on how to tackle hostile Australian crowd early in his career

Gill is only the second Indian captain in history to share this unique distinction, joining his predecessor, Virat Kohli. Kohli’s streak of debut losses began with his first ODI in charge, a 161-run defeat to Sri Lanka at Kingston. He then lost his first Test by 48 runs, despite scoring two centuries in the match, and later lost his first T20I as full-time white-ball skipper to England by seven wickets in Kanpur.

Across the cricketing world, Gill and Kohli are just two of nine captains, which also includes Stephen Fleming, Shaun Pollock, Brendon McCullum, and Jason Holder, to have lost their very first game in charge across all three formats. Notably, India is the only country to have two players on this specific list. Overall, Gill is the seventh Indian player to have captained the national team across all three formats, following Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul.