Pant, Gill put India in command with emotional hundreds

CHENNAI: Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill cleansed months of hurt, anxiety and disappointments of varying nature with emotional hundreds on the third day to place India in a prime position to win the first Test against Bangladesh here Saturday.

Gill (119 not out) and Pant (109 led the hosts' run glut with an alliance of 167 for the fourth wicket that helped India, overnight 81/3, declare their second innings at 287 for 4 for an overall lead of 514.

Bangladesh showed some spunk in their second innings to reach 158 for four when play was called off at 4.25 pm due to bad light. They still need a whopping 357 runs for the result to be in their favour.

Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (51) and Shakib Al-Hasan (5) were manning the crease for the visitors, and the day could have ended on a better note for them have they been a slightly more judicious in shot selection against star off-spinner R Ashwin (3/63).

But let's forget the match situation and those dreary numbers for a while to cast a deeper look into the story of the day.

The hundreds by Pant and Gill stood as a testimony of these two fine young men's will to rise above towering personal obstacles that would have strangled the ordinary.

Pant’s turmoil has been widely-documented after that horrifying car crash in December 2022, and the way he reacted after reaching his sixth Test hundred with a two off Shakib Al-Hasan underscored the value he attached to the knock.

Pant stood near the middle of the pitch with closed eyes, an upward tilted head and a raised bat – offering a silent prayer, perhaps, to the Lord above for returning life and cricket to him.

Gill watched the whole scene from a fair distance, as he did not want to invade into an intensely private moment of his partner.

Soon, the two brave-hearts melted into a warm embrace as Chepauk erupted.

Perhaps, the moment stood also as a tribute to Pant equalling Chennai’s very own 'Thala' MS Dhoni’s record for the most Test hundreds by an Indian wicketkeeper-batsman – six.

Compared to Pant’s, the struggles of Gill have been less pronounced as they were more mental than physical in nature, stemming primarily from the lack of confidence in himself in the traditional format.

However, since making that hundred against England at Visakhapatnam earlier this year, Gill seemed to have turned a corner and he further validated that journey upwards with his fifth Test hundred, fetched through a single off Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

But while Gill, beginning from overnight 33, and Pant, starting from 12, were in the office, all these feelings were hidden as it was time to enjoy the sight of them taking down Bangladesh bowlers in their contrasting methods.

The left-hander started rather sedately, looking to get his eye in before opening up.

The breakaway moment came when Pant pulled off-spinner Miraz for a four around the first drinks break of the day.

Since that point, Pant's dismantling of Miraz became a feature of the innings as he brought up his fifty off 88 balls.

Once the fifty was achieved, the 26-year-old unfurled some of those typical Pant shots.

Pant moved around the crease like a trapeze artist, and his scooped six over fine leg off Hasan Mahmud enthralled a sizeable weekend crowd here.

He was dropped on 72 by Shanto off Shakib but that was not even a deterrent. He duly completed his ton before offering a return catch to the hard-working Mehidy.

Minimalism is quintessential to Gill's batting as he plays shots with little flourish.

The short-arm pull from in front of the face or that zero follow-through punch through the covers, which he often executed off pacers Nahid Rana and Hasan, might not be out of the batting manual but were productive nonetheless.

Gill milked a further 53 runs off 51 balls with KL Rahul for the fifth wicket to take India’s lead past 500.

However, Bangladesh, tasked with a tall chase, showed better application than in their first innings. Shanto took it upon himself to lead their fightback.

But his colleagues, particularly the set Zakir Hasan (33) and Shadman Islam (35), threw their wickets away with callous shots.

Shanto, though, was not fluttered and creamed Ashwin for three sixes, and the swept one among them earned him fifty off 56 balls as the final passage was played under floodlights because of poor light.