The incident occurred in the 17th over of New Zealand's innings. Daryl Mitchell was batting well when he attempted to play a big shot towards the on side off a back-of-a-length delivery from Anshul Kamboj. However, the ball struck the upper part of his bat and went high towards the cover region.
After playing the shot, Mitchell appeared to believe he was out and even began walking back towards the pavilion. Shubman Gill, who was positioned to take the catch, had sufficient time to get underneath the ball. The Indian captain attempted to complete the catch with both hands but failed to hold on to the straightforward opportunity.
Gill's unexpected drop left KL Rahul and the other Indian players stunned. Rahul, standing behind the stumps, appeared particularly surprised by the incident, with his reaction also drawing attention.
Despite the missed opportunity, India's bowlers continued to make an impact on the Wellington pitch. In the 20th over, young bowler Gurnoor Brar struck twice to put New Zealand under further pressure. He first dismissed Tom Latham, who scored 7 runs, with Naman Dhir completing the catch. On the final delivery of the same over, Brar removed the dangerous Glenn Phillips, who was dismissed for a duck after being caught by Anshul Kamboj.
At the end of 20 overs, New Zealand were struggling at 53/5. Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner then attempted to stabilise the innings and rebuild the partnership. Santner scored 31 runs off 38 balls before being dismissed.
Gill's dropped catch became a talking point during the contest, even as India's bowlers continued to put pressure on the New Zealand batting line-up with regular breakthroughs.
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