Gill slams maiden Test ton, Pujara ends century drought as India set Bangladesh mammoth 513 

Shubman Gill notched up his maiden Test hundred, while Cheteshwar Pujara scored his first century in 52 innings as India continued their domination over Bangladesh in the Chattogram Test. After bowling out the hosts for 150 early on Day 3 on Friday, December 16, India decided not to enforce follow on.

Gill (110 off 152 balls) and Pujara (102* off 130 balls) then starred with the bat as India raced to 258/2 in their second innings in 61.4 overs before declaring. The centurions added 113 for the second wicket as Bangladesh bowlers went through the motions.

India declared with a massive lead of 512, setting the hosts an improbable target. Bangladesh survived 12 overs and went to stumps at 42/0 loss. They have a mountain to climb, though, needing a further 471 runs for victory.

Earlier, perhaps mindful of batting last on the tricky Chattogram surface, India decided to bat again after bundling out Bangladesh cheaply. Openers Gill and KL Rahul then added 70 runs for the first wicket to further extend the visitors’ advantage. The pair were watchful in the first session, but Rahul hit two fours off Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the last over before lunch. India went into the break at 36/0.

The second session belonged to Gill. He smacked full deliveries from Khaled Ahmed and Taijul Islam for fours in consecutive overs. More boundaries followed off Khaled as the young opener eased past the 30s. Against the run of play, Rahul perished to Khaled for 23, miscuing a pull to fine leg.

Gill went on to complete an impressive half-century, guiding a length ball from Mehidy for a single to the right of midwicket. He then whacked a short ball from Khaled for a maximum over deep backward square leg. Gill and Pujara guided India to 140/1 by Tea, without looking in much trouble, stretching the team’s lead past 390.

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After Gill’s exit, team man Pujara smashes his fastest Test ton

After easing into the 90s in the final session, Gill reached his maiden hundred by hitting two fours off Mehidy in the 48th over of India’s innings. He reverse-swept the second ball to the boundary and danced down the track to the fifth delivery, lofting the bowler to the long-on fence.

Another six followed off Gill’s bat in Mehidy’s next over. The off-spinner had something to cheer as the Indian opener top-edged a slog sweep and skied a simple catch. In the same over, Pujara reached his fifty by lofting Mehidy for a four over mid-off.

With declaration on India’s mind, Pujara opened up after bringing up a typically patient half-century. He kept hitting boundaries at regular intervals. The No. 3 batter raced to his fastest Test hundred (130 balls), his first since January 2019, by whipping Taijul past a diving mid-on for four. The declaration followed immediately.

At the start of Day 3, Bangladesh resumed their first innings on 133/8, but could not extend their innings for long, folding up for 150. Kuldeep Yadav completed a well-deserved five-fer, having Ebadot Hossain (17) caught down the leg with a delivery that spun sharply.

Hossain’s wicket ended the 42-run ninth-wicket stand for Bangladesh. Axar Patel then helped himself to his first wicket of the Test, having Mehidy stumped for 25.