Rishabh Pant made a comeback to Test cricket with a century while Shubman Gill also proved his dominance in red ball cricket by scoring a century, as India tightened its grip on Bangladesh on the third day of the first cricket Test on Saturday. At tea time, Bangladesh scored 56 runs without any loss while chasing the target of 515 runs.
India declared the innings at 287 for four, playing ahead of yesterday’s score of 81 for three. At tea time, Shadman Islam was playing at 21 and Zakir Hasan at 32. Pant scored 109 and Shubman Gill scored an unbeaten 119 for India. Pant, who returned to Test cricket after a car accident in December 2022, completed his sixth Test century in just 124 balls.
He also equaled Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s record of most Test centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper. Pant scored 109 runs which included 13 fours and four sixes. Gill scored his fifth Test century, hitting ten fours and four sixes in his 176-ball innings. Both added 167 runs in 217 balls for the fourth wicket.
After completing his sixth Test century, Pant closed his eyes and waved his bat in the air while looking up. Perhaps he was thanking God for his return to the cricket field or for his rebirth after that accident. Gill kept watching him from a distance and after that both of them hugged each other.
Gill may not have faced physical problems like Pant, but mentally he too was struggling for confidence. He answered his critics by scoring a century in the Visakhapatnam Test against England earlier this year. Bangladesh was bowled out for 149 on the second day.
