After slamming a maiden Test century during the match against Bangladesh, India batter Shubhman Gill said he plays his game according to the field and he personally thought that it (maiden Test century) was a long time coming for him.
Shubhman Gill’s maiden Test ton followed by Cheteshwar Pujara’s 19th Test century has helped India set a 513-run target. In reply, Bangladesh were 42 for no loss at stumps on the third day of the first test here at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram.
“I personally thought it (maiden Test century) was long time coming for me. Today it was all about getting the difficult situation out of the way. There weren’t any different thoughts (while batting in the 90s). For me, it was about how to play according to the field and then be able to score runs. It was very instinctive (to hit a couple of boundaries and get to the milestone),” Shubhman Gill said in a presentation.
Gill said that his maiden century means a lot to him and his family and added that it’s always a special moment for a player to score a maiden century.
“When the bowler came round the wicket, there was gap between third man and point. I hadn’t played it the whole innings. And once the field came in, I went over the fielders. When lunch happened, I was batting around 13. When I’d faced 100 balls, I was 70-odd, it’s about pacing the innings. You got to know when to attack as a batter. (The century) means a lot to me, my family and my friends who have supported me. A special moment for any player,” he added.
Resuming post-tea session at 140/1 Shubman Gill didn’t waste time and went on to score his maiden Test ton and India also crossed the 150-run mark. The duo of Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara also notched up a 100-run stand for the second wicket.
Pujara went on to score his half-century in 87 balls with the help of four boundaries. The Gill-Pujara 113-run partnership ended as Gill was dismissed by Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Virat Kohli joined Pujara to help India go past the 200-run mark.
Pujara and Virat Kohli batted aggressively and scored a fifty-run partnership off just 48 balls for the third wicket. Pujara shifted gears and went on to score his 19th Test ton in just 130 balls. This was Saurashtra lad’s first after January 2019.
India went on to declare the second innings at 258/2 setting a massive 513-run target for hosts. In reply Bangladesh too gave a good fight as openers Najmul Hossain Shanto and Zakir Hasan have scored 42 runs without the loss of any wicket.
India resumed day three at 36/0 with KL Rahul (20) and Gill, continuing to motor along with the latter playing an array of shots to begin the second session.
Gill took the attack to the Bangladeshi bowlers as he upped the scoring rate and showed great intent from the moment he stepped into bat in the second session. However, India lost captain Rahul to pacer Khaled Ahmed.
Khaled adopted the ploy of short balls coming around the wicket and tucking the batter, bowling superbly at his ribs. The right-hander tried to counterattack but was caught at fine leg, ending his knock for 23 runs.
Pujara joined Gill to extend the host’s woes as the pair kept playing their shots to a toothless attack that could not use Shakin Al Hasan as a bowler and Ebadot Hossain having left the field.
Both the batters brought some much-needed momentum into the inning as India looked to pile a huge target for the hosts. Bangladesh ran out of fuel in the second session as both Pujara and Gill countered the bowlers despite the pitch offering uneven bounce and spin.
India ended the second session with a total of 140/1, ahead of the Bangladesh team by a huge margin of 394 runs.
Earlier, Kuldeep Yadav took his third fifer to bowl out Bangladesh for 150 before India came on to bat in the second inning on the third day of the first test.
Stand-in captain KL Rahul chose not to enforce the follow-on as the men in blue walked out to bat for their second inning after bowling Bangladesh out for 150. KL Rahul and Shubhman Gill took India to 36/0 at lunch as the team dominated the first session of the third day. Rahul was unbeaten on 20 while Gill survived a close call to return not out for 15.
India openers were watchful in their brief stay at the crease going into lunch as Rahul looked the more fluent of the two openers. Gill was declared out but resorted to DRS to save his wicket. The duo watched out the bowlers as they took India to 36 runs at lunch without a loss. (ANI)
This report is filed by ANI news service. TheNewsMill holds no responsibility for this content.
