Pant and Gill's performance provides India with optimism for the future

Chennai: As we witness India's top-order batting struggle in the first innings and wonder if the bowlers have adapted well enough to the Chennai track on the third day, it is important to focus on the mindset of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant. They show no hesitation, whether in defense or attack. Gill's determined fifth Test hundred and Pant's explosive sixth Test century, after a two-year break from Test cricket, have propelled India to a strong position. It is clear that the time for Gill and Pant to shine is approaching.

We probably got the first hint of that back in 2021, from the fifth day of that Gabba Test where India were staring at a 328-run target with a lineup sans Virat Kohli, Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin. Cheteshwar Pujara was a rock, but that chase ran on the fuel provided by Gill at the top and Pant at the end. The promise was real, but not till it is tempered with consistency can it convert into expectation. Nearly four years later, with Gill scoring his third hundred of 2024 and Pant returning to Test batting like he had never left, India can be more than assured.

This was no Gabba though there was overnight rain and Bangladesh were intent on not giving up without a fight. Coming out in the morning on 33 and 12 respectively with India sitting on a comfortable 308-run lead, Gill and Pant had no reason to be cautious either. But they did. “We spoke about, you know, let’s try to spend a little bit more time today because there might be some extra moisture in the wicket because of the rain,” said Gill at the post-day press conference. “But once we played three-four overs, we were trying to dominate because it was not really about runs for us at that point.”

Pant’s cavalier spirit was key to this counterattack. His batting often skirts the boundaries of good fortune, but on days like this, when time was of essence and not much was on the line, there’s no reason to hold back. Which meant taking on Mehidy Hasan Miraz one-handed in typical Pant style and reverse-sweeping Shakib Al Hasan to set the tone of the innings. And then there was the drop by Najmul Hossain when Pant was on 72, an invitation really for the 26-year-old to go berserk. Six, four, four, two singles followed by a two and Pant raced to a hundred like only he could. At the other end, Gill was playing his game, beautifully using his feet to get under the ball and find responses to all kind of deliveries Bangladesh were coming up with.

Gill and Pant are equally watchable batters, but with a vast separation in technique. The streak of innovation in Pant’s batting stems from the impulse to stay one step ahead of the bowlers and the fielding plan. He gives chances but also takes a heavy toll. Gill is more measured, more copybook in the way coaches would keep going back to how he leans, head still, into a cover drive. It’s that training that has helped Gill in making the change from opening the batting to dropping to No.3. It isn’t much of a change in terms of batting chronology, yet it’s pretty discernible.

The IPL has played a vital part in this growth too. Kolkata Knight Riders at first, then to Gujarat Titans, Gill’s value soared as a batter who could make up for lost time at the front with majestic boundary-hitting ease at the backend. Pant, on the other hand, has tried to instill some pragmatism in his T20 batting. That these modifications can find ways to seep into the Test mode was visible from the way they defended and then attacked, not necessarily together but in such pleasing cohesion that India added 124 runs in 28 overs of the first session.

India eventually declared on 287/4, setting Bangladesh an improbable 515 to win. They still came out swinging, as Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam tried to score off every error in length from the pacers. That slowed down once Ashwin started operating but not till after tea did Bangladesh start wilting. First to go was Hasan, brilliantly caught by Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully. Hossain tried to go after Ashwin after Islam was caught at short midwicket, even taking a six off him. But Bangladesh’s will was broken once Mominul Haque was lured by Ashwin’s drift, with the ball then turning just enough to take the top of his off-stump. Mushfiqur Rahim mishit Ashwin to KL Rahul at mid-on and even though Hossain is unbeaten on 51, this game is pretty much over for the visitors.