Team India batter Shubman Gill shared that he was worried about his bat as Rishabh Pant hit his bat hard during their partnership on Day 3 of the Chennai Test against Bangladesh. He also explained that he had been trying to save his bat since it was old. Both Gill and Pant smashed hundreds on Day 3 of the first Test against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday, September 21.

While the former hit an unbeaten 119 off 176 balls, the latter hit 109 off 128 deliveries. During their 167-run stand, they followed a routine of punching gloves and bats twice as well. At the press conference following the end of the day’s play at Chepauk, Gill shared the story behind the interesting practice that they followed out in the middle as well.

He said, “Nothing, I was telling him to not (do it) because I am playing with a bat that I played in the England series. So, my bat is quite old actually and he was hitting my bat so hard. I was telling him, you know… I was trying to save my bat actually. If he didn’t middle it, he would say, ‘let’s do it again’. “I have spent a lot of time with him on and off the field. Watching him score his first fifty and first hundred after his comeback gives me so much pleasure because I have seen him work so hard for it. I think he also must be feeling really good.”

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However, the partnership between Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant was broken when Pant gave a return catch to Bangladesh off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the 56th over of India’s second innings as well.

“It’s a pretty good wicket to still bat on. The odd balls are turning, but I don’t think there is much happening for fast bowlers. As we saw in the first innings, there was a lot more happening for fast bowlers. Yesterday, it was pretty hot and the moisture went out of the wicket. We might see a little bit of turn if the sun comes out,” Gill added.

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However, Shubman Gill has also opened up on his decision to move down the order in Test set-up. His switch to No. 3 allowed Yashasvi Jaiswal to come into the place and open the innings with captain Rohit Sharma as well.

“Even when I was not scoring runs, I always felt I made the right call (to move to number 3). It was never about the number, it was just about my own performance. It was more about me being able to play both spin and pace. In the India A and Ranji Trophy matches I played, I batted at number 5, 4, and 3 as well and scored some runs there, so I was always confident of scoring some runs there apart from opening,” Shubman Gill concluded. “Definitely the punch – there’s a different kind of confidence you get when you stand your ground and punch the bowler down the ground.”