Two days of waiting were worth it as the third and final day of the practice match at the NCC saw Shubman Gill take the field for the first time in the match. He batted with full control and finesse to propel India to a rather comfortable win against SLC XI.
Both teams decided to bat 45 overs each, with the home side setting India a target of 207 in the fourth innings. Gill came out to open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal. A couple of drives off Vishwa Fernando’s bowling at the start were followed by a textbook straight drive. Gill found his mojo early and played a lot of glorious shots. The only false shot he played in the innings led to his downfall.
More than the win, India would be pleased to see Gill fit and batting in the manner in which he did. The ease with which he batted dispelled all fears surrounding his right hand. Before lunch, he did batting practice for more than an hour. Throwdowns were followed by a long session against the net bowlers. Gill batted without any visible discomfort in the nets and then in the game.
Such was the impact of his batting that Jaiswal, who also scored a half-century, was overshadowed. The left-handed batter also looked in great touch. Once the spinners came into the attack, he started scoring more freely and reached his fifty before being retired hurt.
Batters who got out early in the first innings were sent in as the batting order changed. Jaiswal’s departure paved the way for Rishabh Pant to come in at No. 3. Unlike in the first innings, the wicketkeeper didn’t look in any sort of hurry and played a controlled knock, defending a lot of balls while playing his shots off loose deliveries.
The only specialist batter who failed to go past the 30-run mark in the match was Dhruv Jurel, as he failed in both innings.
KL Rahul remained on the sidelines for the majority of the day, but he did bat in the nets for around 40 minutes.
Odd balls were turning from the pitch, and Ravindra Jadeja made the most of it, taking a couple of wickets. Gurnoor Brar once again used his short-ball ploy to good effect, taking two wickets. He outshone Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, with both pacers taking one wicket apiece in the game.
Former India coach and current Sri Lanka coach Gary Kirsten paid a surprise visit to the NCC.
The Indian team management would be happy with what they saw, particularly on day three.
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