Team India had a collective sigh of relief as their openers, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, managed to survive the first 10 overs unscathed on Day 2 of the fourth Test against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. After the Aussies posted a massive total of 480 in the first innings, India had a mountain to climb, but the openers did their job by cutting down 36 runs from the deficit.

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Apart from the six that Gill hit in the last over of the day, the events following it became memorable for the crowd at the stadium and the fans watching the match from their homes. Trusting the good batting pitch and his defense, Gill came down the track against Nathan Lyon on the second delivery of the 10th over of India’s innings to smash a six over the bowler’s head. The ball, however, landed in the area adjacent to the sight screen and went under the white sheets.

The umpires waited for someone to retrieve the ball before they called up the fourth umpire with a box of new balls. Meanwhile, a fan decided to take the onus of retrieving the ball as he jumped into the vacant area. After he went under the sheets, he couldn’t find the ball in the first attempt. However, after he was joined by one more person, the fan was determined to get the ball back, and he did it eventually.

The moment he found the ball, he held it in his hand and raised it like he won a title, inviting huge cheers from the crowd. Commentator Ravi Shastri too got excited as he said on air, “Oh, he’s found it. He has found it. He has found gold. Out he comes, and like a hero, he might just fall. He is just about losing balance there. It comes out, and down he goes again for the count.”

The batter, Gill, too passed a smile seeing the fan finally retrieve the ball. The fan instantly became a star as he was seen on a phone while Shastri said that the calls had started coming as his friends and family would have seen him becoming the center of attention.

Earlier, Australia posted a humongous total of 480 with Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green smashing centuries. India has a daunting task ahead of them, and they will need their batters to step up if they are to avoid a series defeat. However, the fans were thrilled to witness an exciting moment when a fan became the center of attention by retrieving the ball. It added some much-needed entertainment to the day’s proceedings, and the fan will undoubtedly cherish this moment for the rest of his life.