NEW DELHI: Shubman Gill's unbeaten 119 runs helped India gain a strong position on Day 3 of the first Test against Bangladesh at the Chepauk on Saturday.
Partnering with Rishabh Pant, Gill helped India set a target of 515 for the visitors.
Pant, making his return to Test cricket, scored 109 runs in the second innings before being dismissed by Mehidy Hasan Miraz. The comeback has been emotional for the 26-year-old wicket-keeper batter.
Reflecting on Pant’s return, Gill said, "I've spent a lot of time with him on and off the field and watching him score his 1st, 51st, 100 after his comeback gives me so much pleasure because I've seen him work so hard for it when, you know when he was coming back from the injury and I.
And I think he also must be feeling really good," said Gill in the day-end press conference.
Gill's century against Bangladesh is his fifth in Test cricket as well as in the World Test Championship (WTC). The achievement places him above Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Mayank Agarwal who each have four centuries in WTC.
Captain Rohit Sharma holds the overall record for the most centuries by an Indian in WTC, with nine centuries in 33 matches.
"Scoring runs against any opposition gives you a lot of confidence and that's what I've been working on, so it gives me a lot of satisfaction, I practised before the series. I had certain plans, so I think I executed them. It's about having a good defense, but then also not missing out on the opportunities that you get as a batsman to be able to score runs.
"I started practising when I was very young because I was always a tall guy, so it was easier for me to be able to use my feet and play along the ground. Playing in the air and hitting sixes actually came a bit later when I got a little bit more power in my body. But initially, when I used to practice, especially against spinners, it used to be a lot more me stepping down, trying to rotate. Because it's then hard for bowlers to settle on a wicket like this, where the odd one is turning but not all the balls are turning,” he added.
Bangladesh ended the third day at 158 for 4, still needing another 357 runs for victory.
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