Pant, Gill put India in command with emotional hundreds

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 IND vs BAN 1st Test on SaturdayGill 119 not out and Pant 109 led the hosts run glut with an alliance of 167 for the fourth wicket that helped India overnight 813 declare their second innings at 287 for 4 for an overall lead of 514Bangladesh showed some spunk in their second innings of the IND vs BAN 1st Test to reach 158 for four when play was called off at 425 pm due to bad light They still need a whopping 357 runs for the result to be in their favourSkipper Najmul Hossain Shanto 51 and Shakib AlHasan 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 offspinner R Ashwin 363But lets forget the match situation and those dreary numbers for a while to cast a deeper look into the story of the dayThe hundreds by Pant and Gill stood as a testimony of these two fine young mens will to rise above towering personal obstacles that would have strangled the ordinaryPantrsquos turmoil has been widelydocumented after that horrifying car crash in December 2022 and the way he reacted after reaching his sixth Test hundred with a two off Shakib AlHasan underscored the value he attached to the knockPant stood near the middle of the pitch with closed eyes an upward tilted head and a raised bat ndash offering a silent prayer perhaps to the Lord above for returning life and cricket to himGill watched the whole scene from a fair distance as he did not want to invade into an intensely private moment of his partnerSoon the two bravehearts melted into a warm embrace as Chepauk eruptedPerhaps the moment stood also as a tribute to Pant equalling Chennairsquos very own Thala MS Dhonirsquos record for the most Test hundreds by an Indian wicketkeeperbatsman ndash sixAlso ReadIs it possible to outshine Warner in the Zim Afro T10 Raza is hopefulCompared to Pantrsquos 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 formatHowever 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 MirazBut 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 methodsThe lefthander started rather sedately looking to get his eye in before opening upThe breakaway moment came when Pant pulled offspinner Miraz for a four around the first drinks break of the daySince that point Pants dismantling of Miraz became a feature of the innings as he brought up his fifty off 88 balls Once the fifty was achieved the 26yearold unfurled some of those typical Pant shotsPant moved around the crease like a trapeze artist and his scooped six over fine leg off Hasan Mahmud enthralled a sizeable weekend crowdHe 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 hardworking MehidyMinimalism is quintessential to Gills batting as he plays shots with little flourishThe shortarm pull from in front of the face or that zero followthrough 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 nonethelessGill milked a further 53 runs off 51 balls with KL Rahul for the fifth wicket to take Indiarsquos lead past 500However Bangladesh tasked with a tall chase showed better application than in their first innings Shanto took it upon himself to lead their fightbackBut his colleagues particularly the set Zakir Hasan 33 and Shadman Islam 35 threw their wickets away with callous shotsShanto 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 lightWith agency inputs