Kolkata: There was nothing remotely spectacular about Shubman Gill’s 44. It was, by the standards of the India captain’s career, almost modest — 54 balls, seven fours, and a leading-edge dismissal that shouldn’t be read too much into. Yet, as India completed a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in their tour match, Gill’s innings carried significance beyond its score.
For India, this was less about runs than reassurance. Devdutt Padikkal’s hundred on Saturday had already provided one important answer. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s brisk 61 from 46 balls in the second innings added another. Rishabh Pant’s batting in the second innings, too, offered familiar evidence of his capacity to change the tempo of an innings.
Then came Gill, back at the crease, back at No.4, and — most importantly — back looking like a batter who belongs at the centre of India’s Test plans. That was the final piece in the batting line-up India needed.
Gill wasn’t even certain to bat in the match. He had suffered an impact injury to his right ring finger during a practice session and didn’t take the field for the first two days. His decision to return to the nets on Sunday for a rigorous batting session was therefore as important as what followed. India wanted him to spend time in the middle before the Test series begins in Galle on August 15. Gill, too, needed the reassurance that comes only from facing a red ball rather than watching from the dressing room.
He got 54 balls. He also struck several of his boundaries with the fluency that has become characteristic of his batting. There was a crisp shot through extra cover off Vishwa Fernando early in the innings, two more boundaries in one over from Lahiru Kumara, and later a sweep off Ramesh Mendis that raced to the boundary. The dismissal, to Keshara Nuwantha, was almost secondary.
The real objective in this tour game was to rehearse the batting order India expect to take into the first Test, on a Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground pitch that somewhat resembles the surface they are likely to get at Galle. That makes Gill’s innings particularly valuable.
His absence was painfully felt during India’s 0-2 defeat to South Africa late last year. Gill had suffered a neck spasm having just come into bat on the second day in Kolkata, and so had to miss the remainder of the match and the series. Gill’s absence left a conspicuous hole in the middle order in that two-Test series.
The importance of Gill to this team is not simply that he scores runs. It’s where those runs are expected to come. After 41 Tests, Gill has 2,969 runs at an average of 44.31, with 11 hundreds and eight fifties. More striking is the conversion rate — 11 centuries from 19 scores of fifty or more. Gill has generally been capable of turning starts into substantial innings.
That is precisely why India need him at No 4. The preferred combination appears increasingly clear. KL Rahul and Jaiswal are expected to open with Padikkal pushing for the No.3 spot after his hundred in the injured Sai Sudharsan’s absence for the tour. Gill slotting back in at four gives India a blend of experience, left-right variation, aggression and the possibility of sustained accumulation through the top four.
The tour game allowed the Indians to rehearse it without the pressure of a Test. Gill opening in the second innings wasn’t necessarily a signal that India are contemplating a change. Rather, it was an opportunity to maximise his time in the middle after he had missed the first two days.
There was another encouraging aspect to his 44. Gill did not appear to be batting as though protecting an injury. He played his shots. He moved across the crease. He drove, swept and rotated the strike. He went from 13 to 29 with three boundaries in quick succession. The innings eventually slowed as he settled, but that was hardly a concern in a rehearsal whose primary purpose was preparation.
Jaiswal supplied the acceleration India have come to expect from him. His 61 from 46 balls contained nine fours and two sixes and was a reminder that India’s left-handed opener can transform a chase before the opposition has time to settle. Sri Lanka’s Nishan Madushka, who made fifties in both innings, provided encouragement, while Mohammed Siraj found time to entertain with a late burst of six-hitting. But the most consequential runs may have been his skipper’s.