India Takes Charge with Commanding Lead

On the third day, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill used emotional hundreds to wash away months’ worth of hurt, anxiety, and disappointments of many kinds. This put India in a strong position to win the first Test match against Bangladesh on Saturday.

With a partnership of 167 for the fourth wicket, Gill (119 not out) and Pant (109) spearheaded the hosts’ run glut, enabling India to declare their second innings at 287 for 4 overnight, taking a 514 advantage.

Bangladesh played in poor light and showed considerable spin in their second innings, reaching 158 for four when play was abandoned at 4:25 p.m. For the outcome to go in their favor, they still want an astounding 357 runs.

The visitors’ captain Najmul Hossain Shanto (51) and Shakib Al-Hasan (5) were guarding the crease, and if they had chosen their shots more wisely against ace off-spinner R Ashwin (3/63), the day could have ended better for them.

But to take a closer look at the day’s tale, let’s set aside the match situation and those dismal stats for a bit.

The hundreds written by Pant and Gill served as evidence of these two great young men’s determination to overcome overwhelming personal challenges that would have crushed the average person.

After the horrific automobile accident in December 2022, Pant’s agony has been extensively documented. His response upon hitting his sixth Test hundred with a two off Shakib Al-Hasan highlighted the significance he placed on the blow.

Pant was standing close to the center of the field, his head turned forward, eyes closed, and his bat elevated, as if he were silently pleading with the Lord above to give him back life and cricket.

Gill kept a safe distance from the entire scene, preferring not to pry into his partner’s deeply personal moment.

Chepauk burst and soon the two brave-hearts melted into a warm embrace.

The occasion may have also served as a tribute to Pant, who tied Chennai’s own “Thala,” MS Dhoni, for the most Test hundreds by an Indian batsman and wicketkeeper with six.

Gill’s challenges have been less severe than Pant’s because they are mostly cerebral in origin rather than physical, arising from a lack of trust in himself in the conventional style.

Gill appeared to have turned the corner, though, after reaching his century against England at Visakhapatnam earlier this year. He confirmed this upward trajectory with his fifth Test century, which he achieved by hitting a single off Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

However, these emotions were kept under wraps while Gill, who started at overnight 33, and Pant, who started at 12, were at work because it was time to enjoy watching them destroy Bangladeshi bowlers with their disparate approaches.

The left-hander got out to a somewhat calm start, trying to get his eye in before being aggressive.

Around the first drinks break of the day, Pant took spinner Miraz for a four, setting up the breakaway moment.

After then, Pant’s demolition of Miraz turned into a defining aspect of the innings, as he reached his fifty off 88 balls.

After reaching fifty, the 26-year-old revealed a few of those classic Pant moments.

A sizable weekend crowd was captivated by Pant’s scooped six over fine leg off Hasan Mahmud, which he performed like a trapeze performer.

Even after Shanto dropped him off Shakib on 72, it did not stop him. He dutifully finished his ton and then offered the diligent Mehidy a return catch.

Gill’s batting style is all about minimalism; he plays strokes with little flair.

Even though they weren’t exactly from the batting handbook, his short-arm pull in front of the face and his zero follow-through punch through the covers, which he frequently used off pacers Nahid Rana and Hasan, were nevertheless effective.

With KL Rahul, Gill extracted 53 more runs off of 51 balls to lift India’s lead past 500.

But Bangladesh, faced with a steep chase, applied themselves more skillfully than they had in the opening innings. Shanto decided to take the lead in their counteroffensive.

However, with heartless shots, his teammates, especially the set Zakir Hasan (33) and Shadman Islam (35), threw away their wickets.

But Shanto did not back down, hitting Ashwin for three sixes, and the swept one of them gave him fifty off 56 balls as the last stretch was played in low light under floodlights.