Gill, Pant, and Ashwin Dominate Day Three at Chepauk.

Posted 2 months ago

Rishabh Pant reached an emotional sixth Test century, while Shubman Gill calmly notched his fifth.

India's bowlers and fielders responded well to tough conditions, taking four second-innings wickets on day three in Chennai.

Bangladesh faced a daunting task, trailing by 357 runs after being set a target of 515 following an aggressive declaration, with two and a half days remaining in the Test.

The pitch remained stable, with seam movement dropping from 1.3 degrees on day one to just 0.4 on day three, creating the best batting conditions of the match.

Despite India's aggressive declaration strategy, they only played 16 false shots in 41 overs while scoring 206 runs.

When Bangladesh batted, the conditions remained flat, but R Ashwin's marathon spell helped maintain India’s advantage, with fielders contributing three low catches of varying difficulty.

Given the favorable conditions, Gill and Pant, both known for their attacking styles, recognized that they needed to stay focused for big innings. They respected good deliveries and once settled, launched into aggressive shots.

Gill targeted Mehidy Hasan Miraz, hitting four sixes and reaching 28 sixes in his 26th Test.

Pant took on Shakib Al Hasan's left-arm spin, smashing four sixes of his own, bringing his total to 59 in just 34 Tests, making him seventh on India’s all-time list.

Overall, India has hit 85 sixes in 2024, just five shy of breaking the record for most sixes by a team in a calendar year.