Shubman Gill made a timely return to the middle as India completed their preparations for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka with a comfortable chase against Sri Lanka Cricket XI in Colombo. Gill’s 44 off 54 balls came after a brief interval of struggle while Yashasvi Jaiswal produced an aggressive half-century, as India’s firecrackers gained time in the middle before the first Test on 15 August.
The knock to the hand, before the practice game, condemned Gill to a spot of caution and he has been grounded in India’s first innings. When on the move on Thursday, though, he didn’t seem to show signs of any fatigue as he set up India’s 207-run pursuit. He was right at home with his job after just a few pitches and under applied pressure from the Sri Lankan bowlers.
The India spin-bowling coach, Sairaj Bahutule, stated that the captain was completely fit and fit to compete against the UAE in the upcoming Tests. Bahutule says it was nothing more than the team management simply deciding not to risk Gill in the first innings of the practice game.
This seemed to have been a stroke of good luck. The 54 balls played at the crease didn’t impact Gill and he managed to hit into the scorebook 7 times. That wasn’t the only useful point in the middle as he was also able to make the tour’s first Test of the tour.
Similarly, Jaiswal was sensational at the bowler’s end. The left-hander, who had missed the recent tours to England and Zimbabwe, had the best of luck in his 61 from 46 deliveries. In his innings, he scored nine fours and two sixes and the team called him off.
First, Jaiswal blasted the Sri Lankan spinners with his sweep, and continued going through the covers to put a lid on the Sri Lankan bowlers. The two scored 105 runs together for the opening wicket to give India a perfect start to the chase.
It was a 50 off the first two for eight balls at the beginning of the one and ten of the boundaries. The equation gave yet another positive sign to India as they gear up for their Test campaign.
However, Rishabh Pant has joined the middle after Jaiswal’s retirement, but didn’t get the momentum on his first few deliveries. He came up 21 balls short of a run and did not score his first run until after that. In search of another wicket, Dhruv Jurel came to play after which the duo was instrumental in chalking up 45 runs over eight overs.
Gill also found his dismissal after taking a commendable delivery; it meant the end of another useful practice session. Lower level India maimed Jurel who was just playing a bit behind and no drama in the closing stages.
This was completed in a very impressive way by Mohammed Siraj. The fast bowler scored 3 consecutive sixes to help India win, adding to the 32 unbeaten runs he scored. This was an entertaining end to a no-frills hitter-to-hit chase, as he failed to serve up a few moments before the ball.The late hitting made an otherwise routine chase fun.
India had set 90 overs for their first innings earlier so, for the Sri Lanka Cricket XI, it was a target to chase. The change bowlers couldn’t wait to hit the ball and Siraj had her say from the off.The hosts initially kept the pressure on the change bowlers with Prasidh Krishna leading the bowlers.
Nishan Fernando’s composed 63 (73) led the way for the SLC XI response. He established vital links with Pavan Rathnayake & Anjala Bandara, when the hosts were able to cross 100.
Bandara also thumped the Indian spinners and scored 35 runs but, Ravindra Jadeja departed. The hosts finally declared at Tea on chasing 207 against SLC XI.After a Tea, India eventually set a Target of 207 at the middle off against SLC XI.
The competitive game helped India in middle period of the practice match, Overs proved useful for the bowlers and good period for key bowlers to acclimatise themselves to the conditions in Colombo.
The main thing that Shubman Gill was able to learn was his fitness. His resolute 44 showed that the finger problem is at least left behind him, as having to skip the first are of play was taken as a precaution. The first Test match will be upon us soon and the Indian skipper will now aim to take this pace forward throughout the series.
We also got a lot of positives from the performances of Jaiswal, Siraj and other performers. Lastly with the prepare-to-play game over and main series next days, it’s all about the Test battle now on. The big conundrum for Gill and India starts on August 15.
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