India captain Shubman Gill pulled off a sensational effort to pile further misery on Sri Lanka on Day 3 of the opening Test in Galle on Monday. Mohammed Siraj and Manav Suthar took three wickets in no time, and India were completely bossing the game. Gill soon joined in to nail the hammer blow on the opposition. A sensational diving effort at extra cover from the skipper resulted in Kamindu Mendis walking back and the hosts losing their fourth wicket in the opening session on Day 3.
It all happened on the first delivery of the 17th over, bowled by Kuldeep Yadav. Mendis walked down the pitch, converting the delivery into a full leggie and driving it toward extra cover. The shot was on the uppish side, and it was then that Gill leapt to his left at extra cover, taking a one-handed stunner.
The 26-year-old caught the ball with his left hand, ensuring that the ball didn’t pop out after landing on the ground. Even Gill was mighty impressed with his effort, throwing the ball in the air in delight and raising his hands before punching the air.
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Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar who was on commentary at that time, couldn’t believe his eyes, reserving special praise for Gill. “Wow, he had no right to take that,” said Manjrekar.
“Honestly, it was never within his reach. Even the batter would have thought, ‘Yeah, it’s in the air, but it was well away.’ One of the best catches that you will see in that area.
Sri Lanka rocked
On Day 3, India took a giant step towards dominating the Test match. After being bundled out for 462, India struck immediately as Mohammed Siraj removed Nishan Fernando in the opening over. Manav Suthar then joined the action, removing Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Udara.
Kuldeep scalped the fourth wicket of Mendis, but the scalp was mainly down to Gill’s brilliance. Even the left-handed batter was not able to believe what the Indian captain pulled off at extra cover.
Earlier, India posted 462 runs on the board, owing to Devdutt Padikkal’s 167-run knock. KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel also smashed fifties as India went past the 400-run mark in a contest that has been marred by rain.
The opening Test of the two-match series started with India captain Gill winning the toss and opting to bat. The visitors cannot afford defeats if they are to have any chance of making the WTC final. India need to win seven out of their remaining nine matches to have a shot at reaching the Oval for the summit clash of the 2025-27 cycle.