Captain Shubman Gill backed his teammates and their effort despite missing the opportunity to complete a 2-0 sweep of the Test series in Sri Lanka. Gill defended Mohammed Siraj’s work with the ball, dismissing rumours that the senior fast bowler was managing an injury during the series, particularly in the second Test, which ended in a draw on Thursday, August 27.
Gill’s comments came after India failed to pick up the last four Sri Lankan wickets on Day 5 of the second Test. Asked to follow on, Sri Lanka began the final day with just four wickets left in hand. However, 25-year-old Sonal Dinusha kept the Indian bowlers at bay throughout the day, hitting an unbeaten 133 to ensure Sri Lanka held India to a draw. The home team declared at 429 for 9 after batting for 154 overs in their second innings, prompting the two captains to shake hands an hour before the scheduled close of play.
Siraj was far from his best, lacking the rhythm and pace he generally delivers, even on the last day of a Test series. The fast bowler sent down 15 overs and conceded just 26 runs, but lacked the bite needed to get the job done for India. Siraj suffered a rib injury while fielding on Day 4, but Gill said there were no fitness concerns despite his pace dropping on the final day.
“There are no injury concerns for him. I felt his pace was a little less in this series, but he was playing after a couple of months. It takes time to come back,” Gill said while speaking to the press.
India won the Test series 1-0, but their chances of reaching the World Test Championship final took a huge hit. India remained fifth, behind Bangladesh, with five wins from 11 matches in the ongoing WTC cycle.
FOLLOW-ON DID NOT BACKFIRE: GILL
The game was firmly in India’s control when they bowled Sri Lanka out for 290 after scoring 503 in their first innings. Fearing weather interruptions, India opted to enforce the follow-on on the morning of Day 4 despite having bowled 89.4 overs in the first innings. India had Sri Lanka reeling at 218 for 6, but Sonal Dinusha continued to hurt the visitors, this time scoring an unbeaten 133 and denying India a win.
“Follow-on didn’t backfire, it was the best decision we took keeping the weather in mind,” Gill said, defending the call on Day 4.
Dinusha finished the series with 420 runs, including three hundreds and a fifty, and played one of the finest knocks in the fourth innings of a Test. He swept the Indian spinners at will and used his feet effectively to disrupt their rhythm. Manav Suthar, Ravindra Jadeja and debutant Saransh Jain were unable to remain penetrative on a pitch that did not crumble as much as expected on the final day.
Gill defended his bowlers, saying he would not fault their effort and instead pointed to the pitch for not offering them enough assistance, especially on the final day.
“Things don’t always go as per plan, so a lot of learning for me as a captain. I give 10 out of 10 for the effort and intent of everyone. It is not easy to field in these conditions for three days. We gave our best,” he said.
“A lot of positives for us, learning from the opposition. The way they came back, it was tremendous to see. I don’t think we could have done things differently. They bowled brilliantly in this game,” he added, giving Sonal plenty of credit.
It was India’s first overseas Test series win under Gill’s captaincy and Gautam Gambhir’s coaching tenure. However, it was a bittersweet ending to the series as India were held to a draw despite dominating the match for four days.
In fact, this was the first draw at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Test cricket in the last 11 years, with the venue having produced eight outright results during that period.
– Ends
