India captain Shubman Gill has defended his decision of enforcing the follow-on in the IND vs SL 2nd Test that ended in an exciting draw on Thursday in Colombo.
India clinched the two-Test series in Sri Lanka by 1-0 but will leave the island with a feeling of dissatisfaction after failing to win the 2nd Test on day 5 and thus failing to grab the opportunity of a 2-0 whitewash and crucial ICC WTC points.
India had piled up 503 in their first innings and then bundled the hosts for 290 in the first hour of day 4. India earned the decision to enforce the follow-on, and they took it, although teams in this era have generally preferred to bat again and bat the opposition out of the match. This also meant that their opposition would have to bat in the fourth innings in the toughest conditions of the pitch.
However, India enforced the follow-on, and Sri Lanka replied with a magnificent batting effort in their second dig. Sri Lanka batted for 154 overs, with Sonal Dinusha notching up his third century of the two-Test series.
By stumps on day 4, Sri Lanka were 229/6 with a slender lead, and India needed to knock over four wickets on day 5. However, India could only take three wickets in the entire day 5, with Dinusha getting solid support from Sri Lanka’s Nos 7-11.
Eventually, as Sri Lanka gained a lead of beyond 200 and only an hour left to play, Shubman Gill gave up and shook hands with the Lankans.
Keeping the weather in mind, we weren’t sure: Shubman Gill
In the post-match presentation ceremony, Shubman Gill was queried over his decision to enforce the follow-on. The Indian captain reasoned that the looming rain threat – rain had cut down more than 60 overs in this Test match – was the chief reason India asked Sri Lanka to bat again.
Shubman Gill said, “Like I said, I think they played brilliantly this game. In hindsight, you can think, okay, if enforcing the follow-on was the right decision? But keeping the weather and everything in mind we weren’t sure if there’s going to be a full day of game on day five.
“But you can only talk about these things in hindsight; when you’re in that moment, you try to take the best decision as you can, and some of the things didn’t go our way, but that’s totally fine. This is a game of cricket, and I think in the end the Test cricket won today.”
Shubman Gill had a resigned tempo in the presentation ceremony. He praised the Sri Lankan batsmen for their vigil of more than 150 overs, adding that India threw everything they had at Sri Lanka.
When asked if he could have done anything differently, Gill responded, “Honestly, nothing. I mean, we fielded for about 250 overs, three days consecutively, and we did everything we can. They played brilliantly. I think the batters played really well, and they had a lot of skill and a little bit of luck going their way. So I don’t think we could have done anything differently.”
This draw has made the road to the ICC WTC final 2027 tougher for India. They remain in the 5th spot and have two Test series left in this cycle, both with significant challenges: a two-Test series in New Zealand and a five-Test series against Australia at home.
When is India’s next Test series?
India’s two-match Test series against New Zealand is scheduled to begin on November 19, with matches to be played in Wellington and Christchurch.
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