Indian captain Shubman Gill stands by his call to enforce the follow-on in Colombo despite Sri Lanka batting out a hard-fought draw.
Indian captain Shubman Gill has defended his decision to enforce the follow-on in the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, despite describing the final draw as a disappointing result.
With rain anticipated in the Sri Lankan capital across the final days, Gill opted to ask the hosts to bat again. However, Sri Lanka secured a draw behind a standout performance from centurion Sonal Dinusha.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Gill pushed back against suggestions that the tactic failed. "I would not say it (follow-on) backfired. We were also anticipating (wet) weather on day four and five. But you have to take the best decision possible in that situation," Gill said.
The skipper explained that conditions shifted as the match went on, making it difficult for bowlers to force errors. "We attacked in the beginning but as the match went on, the pitch got slower. As a batter, if you know that bowlers do not have two modes of dismissal (bowled and lbw) in play, then it becomes easier to bat. We tried our best but they also batted really well. It was obviously disappointing," he noted.
Looking back at the overall series, Gill praised several individual contributions, highlighting Devdutt Padikkal, Manav Suthar, and paceman Prasidh Krishna. "Devdutt did really well. And Manav, technically this is his first full series, did well. Prasidh has been the pick of our bowlers, been our go-to bowler and created chances. Overall we played good cricket," he remarked.
Gill also expressed optimism regarding India's chances of reaching the ICC World Test Championship final. "I still think we have a pretty good chance to qualify. If we play the New Zealand series well and then hopefully when Australia comes, we just have to win that series," Gill stated.
Reporting sourced from The Hindu Sport. Photo courtesy The Hindu Sport.