Shubman Gill displayed good signs on his Ranji Trophy return and scored a fine century in a tricky situation to lead Punjab's fightback against Karnataka. The 25-year-old batter had a tough time with the bat in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which also raised questions over his red-ball batting credentials. The Punjab batter silenced his critics and scored a solid century on Saturday on Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka.
After the first innings, embarrassed by getting all out for 55, Punjab once again crumbled under pressure against Karnataka bowlers, but Shubman held one end and took the innings forward. He fought a lone battle and completed his century off 159 balls, embellished with 14 fours and three sixes.
Shubman, who bats at number 3 for India in Tests, returned to the opening slot for Punjab in the Ranji match. Earlier, during the West Indies tour last year, he decided to give up his opening slot for Yashasvi Jaiswal. However, he took some time to get settled at the number 3 slot but the Australia tour turned out to be a big disappointment for him as he also had to miss the Melbourne Test after getting dropped.
Earlier, in the first innings, Gill, captaining Punjab, got out for four after being caught behind. He took the matter into his own hands in the second essay and held his ground strong when the other batters failed to put up a challenge. He shared a solid 63-run partnership for the seventh wicket with tailender Mayank Markande to help India cross the 150-run mark.
Shubman and Jadeja only star players to perform well
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, in the first innings, Gill, captaining Punjab, got out for four after being caught behind. He took the matter into his own hands in the second essay and held his ground strong when the other batters failed to put up a challenge. He shared a solid 63-run partnership for the seventh wicket with tailender Mayank Markande to help India cross the 150-run mark.
Shubman and Jadeja only star players to perform well
{{/usCountry}}Shubman was one of the few senior stars from the Indian team who managed to shine in round 6 of the Ranji Trophy as the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Rohit Sharma failed to make any impact with the bat.
Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja did showcase his class with the ball and claimed 12 wickets for Saurashtra to help them outclass Delhi. He finished with the figures of 5/66 in the first innings and 7/38 in the second innings. In the same match, star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant failed to fire for Delhi on Ranji's return, managing scores of 1 and 17 in both innings.