Shubman Gill might have not been able to convert his fifty into a three-figure score on day 1 of the second Test against Sri Lanka, but the Indian captain made sure he enter a rare elite club, headed by legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Coming into this match at 2993 runs, the right-hander needed just seven runs to enter the 3000 club in the longest format.
An outside edge to the boundary off Keshara Nuwantha in the 23rd over of the Indian innings took Shubman to 3000 Test runs and the fourth-youngest Indian to achieve the feat. At the time of the milestone, Shubman aged 26 years and 349 days, thus moving ahead of legendary Kapil Dev in the list, who was 26 years and 356 days old when he completed the record.
The list is headed by Tendulkar, who was just 23 years and 228 days old when he became the youngest to 3000 Test runs. Former India cricketers Virender Sehwag (26 years and 157 days) and Dilip Vengsarkar (26 years and 263 days) were the next two Indians on the list.
Shubman’s milestone came after Sri Lanka made a statement early in the first session with the wickets of both the Indian openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal. While Rahul was dismissed for just 18, Jaiswal was undone by a Asitha Fernando delivery that nipped back to crash on to his stumps.
The Indian captain, who managed just 16 and 8 runs in the first Test, looked solid during his stay in the crease. His short-arm pull off left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya that raced to the fence was a treat to watch. However, a lapse in concentration brought his downfall as the right-hander edged Fernando to wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella.
Earlier, India were put under some early pressure as Sri Lanka jettisoned Rahul and Jaiswal in the first session. After opting to bat, India started solidly through Rahul (18) and Jaiswal (45), who added a trouble-free 37 runs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal misses half-century
Jaiswal was particularly impressive as he eschewed the cut shot, which has led to his peril often in the past, to a good extent. The left-hander smashed Kumara for two boundaries in succession, before executing a wonderful cover drive off Jayasuriya.
Rahul was as restrained as ever but showed a glimpse of his shot-making ability, lifting Jayasuriya for a six straight over the head of the bowler. But the trouble came without any warning. Rahul went for a square cut off Kumara, but the laden feet shot only produced an edge to Dickwella.
Jaiswal looked primed for a bigger score but soon fell to Fernando. The pacer produced a peach of a nip-backer to breach the Indian’s defence and a little drama followed that dismissal.
Fernando gave Jaiswal, who had sledged Dickwella in the second innings of the first Test at Galle, a send-off and the Indian opener turned back to have a few words with Lankan with his helmet touching the forehead of the pacer. But the situation was soon defused by Lankan skipper Dhananjaya de Silva.
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