In a series of forgettable events, India Test skipper Shubman Gill added an unwanted record to his captaincy stint after India's push for victory came to a frustrating draw in Colombo. Despite enforcing the follow-on and putting Sri Lanka on the backfoot the visitors could not seal the win as Sonal Dinusha and the lower order neutralized the Indian bowling unit.
With just 17 overs left and the hosts 216 runs ahead, both sides eventually settled for a draw. The result marked the first instance of an Indian captain failing to claim a Test win after asking the opposition to follow on.
Unwanted record for Shubman Gill
India have enforced the follow-on on nine occasions in their Test history, with the first such instance ending up in a win under Kapil Dev at Cuttack in 1987. Over the years, Mohammad Azharuddin, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have also opted to send the opposition back in immediately. While each of the previous captains managed to win after enforcing the follow-on, the current India skipper became the first to see his team securing a draw after taking the same decision.
Forgettable result for Team India
India had taken command of the game right from the start, declaring their first innings at 503 for nine, riding on Devdutt Padikkal's 117 and Dhruv Jurel's 115. Sri Lanka were then bowled out for 290, prompting Gill to enforce the follow-on. However, Sonal Dinusha, who had also scored a century in the first innings, once again stood in India's way with an unbeaten 133. He got key support from Keshara Nuwantha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Kumara and Asitha Fernando, with the lower order collectively facing 292 balls to frustrate the Indian attack. Their resistance helped Sri Lanka clinch a draw, although India still wrapped up the two-game Test series 1-0.