Sara Tendulkar and Shubman Gill (Image credit: Agencies)

NEW DELHI: India’s T20I vice-captain Shubman Gill looked in fine touch during the third T20I against Australia at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Sunday, but his promising start was cut short by Australian pacer Nathan Ellis.Gill looked composed early on, timing the ball well and rotating the strike confidently. He produced one of the shots of the innings when he whipped Ellis off his pads over mid-wicket for a beautiful boundary — a stroke that even drew a delighted reaction from Sachin Tendulkar’s daughter, Sara Tendulkar, who was spotted in the stands. Her cheerful expression was captured by the cameras, quickly becoming a highlight moment for fans.

However, Gill’s stay at the crease didn’t last long. On the very next delivery, Ellis delivered a perfect full ball targeting the stumps. Gill attempted to flick it away but was late to bring his bat down. The ball straightened slightly after pitching, beat the inside edge, and crashed into the leg stump.

The ball-tracker showed it hitting the middle and leg stump flush — a clean dismissal that ended his brief innings.

Gill managed only one boundary in his short stay, continuing a modest run of form in T20Is since the Asia Cup 2025. In his last 10 innings, he has scored 184 runs at an average of 23 and a strike rate of 146, with a top score of 47. While he has looked fluent in patches, he is yet to convert his starts into big scores.Earlier, Tim David’s explosive 74 off 38 balls and Marcus Stoinis’s 64 off 39 powered Australia to 186/6. For India, Arshdeep Singh impressed with 3 for 35, while Varun Chakaravarthy took 2 for 33. Arshdeep and Jasprit Bumrah closed out the innings brilliantly, conceding just 16 runs in the final two overs.