Putting behind their forgettable first innings against Bangladesh in the opening Test of the two-match series, centurions Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant stitched a valiant 167-run stand for the fourth wicket that helped India set a daunting target of 515 runs in Chennai. En route to the partnership, a certain annoying act of Pant left Gill scared, and when he later revealed it in the press conference, the reporters were left in splits.
Pant and Gill’s little moments of celebration en route to India’s second-highest fourth-wicket stand in the second innings of a Test match had an unusual pattern: two taps of gloves and one tap of the bats. However, Gill’s revelation, after Day 3’s play at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, came amid a peel of laughter.
“I’m playing with a bat that I played against England. So my bat is quite old, actually, and he was hitting my bat so hard. I was telling him, you know, I’m trying to save my bat, and if he didn’t middle that if he didn’t middle it while in the middle, he would say no, let’s do it again, bro, calm down,” Shubman said.
‘That England series gave me a lot of confidence’
Gill may have convinced captain Rohit Sharma for the No. 3 role after India moved on from Cheteshwar Pujara, despite his strong numbers as an opener, but he failed to make an impression in his new role. It even led to critics questioning the decision after he could not even reach the fifty-run mark in the first 12 innings at No. 3.
However, Gill turned things around in the home series against England, where he smashed two centuries – at Visakhapatnam and Dharamsala earlier this year, scoring 452 runs in five matches.
“I think the series that I had against England gave me a lot of confidence. I felt it was a long time coming for me, especially batting at that position (No. 3). And having got out the way I got out in the first innings (down the leg-side), I was obviously very disappointed.
“But it further motivated me to be able to spend a lot of time on the crease and put extra value on my wicket. I think my best is yet to come,” he noted.
On Saturday, Gill notched up his third century in 2024 and fifth in his career, en route to an unbeaten 119 that led India to declare their second innings at 287 for four.
