Hit or miss? Shubman Gill gets 7 out of 10 for captaincy in Colombo Test draw

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar said it was important to understand the conditions and acknowledge the grit of the Sri Lankan batters when judging Shubman Gill's captaincy over the last two days of the second Test in Colombo. 2nd Test Day 5 Highlights | Scorecard

India enforced the follow-on after securing a 213-run lead in their first innings on the morning of Day 4, hoping to bowl Sri Lanka out with two full days in hand, even as wet weather was forecast. However, things did not go according to plan as Sonal Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha produced a rearguard effort on Day 5, stitching together a 112-run partnership for the seventh wicket.

When India took the follow-on, having bowled 89.4 overs in the first innings, it looked like a sensible call. But as Sonal and Nuwantha led a period of resistance, the Indian bowlers appeared tired and seemed to run out of plans. Sonal Dinusha went on to score the second hundred of the Test and the third hundred of the series as Sri Lanka went past 400 and batted for 150 overs, managing to do so in the fourth innings of a Test match for only the eighth time.

Sri Lanka showed no signs of declaring as they stretched their lead past 200 in the final session, leaving India frustrated. In the end, Sri Lanka reached 429 for 9, with Sonal Dinusha remaining unbeaten on 133 when they declared. The two teams shook hands at that stage, with the match ending in a draw and denying India a 2-0 sweep.

Speaking to Sony Sports, Manjrekar said the pitch was too flat for a Day 5 surface in Sri Lanka and credited the opposition batters, especially Sonal, for keeping the Indian bowlers from finding success on the final day.

"India are batting last because this pitch has gone to sleep, and I don't think it will wake up. So India will be okay with whatever they have to chase. But, yes, it has been a test of Gill's captaincy. If I have to give him marks out of 10, I would say 7 or 8. I don't think we should jump to the conclusion that this is how he will operate in the future. I thought his captaincy in this Test match was conditions-specific," he said.

SPINNERS NOT GOOD ENOUGH?

However, former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad pointed fingers at Gill's captaincy, saying the skipper did not give long enough spells to the spinners. Prasad also rued the inexperience in India's spin-bowling attack, suggesting that the likes of Anil Kumble or R Ashwin might have found ways to keep the Sri Lankan batters quiet.

According to SonyLIV, Gill gives his spinners 26 balls per spell, the least among India's last four captains.

"I differ slightly from what Sanjay has said. My reading of the pitch is that it is fantastic for Test cricket and, secondly, for spinners. It has got a lot of turn to offer. I'm telling you, this is a test for the bowlers in terms of their accuracy, their consistency and how long they can keep asking those questions of the batters without trying too many things," Prasad said.

"I think that's what the Indian bowlers are missing, especially the spinners. They lack the experience of Anil Kumble or Ashwin. We don't have that sort of experience in the spin department. Both Suthar and [the other spinner] have just come into Test cricket, so that experience isn't there.

"If they don't get a wicket for, say, four or five overs, they try to change something or do something different. Whereas on this pitch, you need to be as accurate and consistent as possible, getting the batters onto the front foot and trying to get them out at short leg, silly point or slip. That should be the idea," he said.

AVERAGE BALLS PER SPELL TO SPINNERS (IN SUBCONTINENT TESTS SINCE 2015)

1. Ajinkya Rahane - 39
2. Rohit Sharma - 35
3. Virat Kohli - 34
4. Shubman Gill - 29

In the last hour, Gill brought himself into the attack, showing the first signs of India giving up on their frontline bowlers. Yashasvi Jaiswal also rolled his arm over, but Sonal Dinusha remained unbeaten, finishing the series with 420 runs in four innings, including three hundreds and a fifty.

Manjrekar agreed with Prasad's assessment to an extent, but credited the Sri Lankan batting for making India and their plans look ordinary.

"So I feel Shubman Gill is hampered by the quality of the batters out there, on a pitch that seems like it's a turning pitch. Venkatesh makes a good point: we have to sometimes imagine what Anil Kumble, Ashwin and Jadeja in their prime bowling together would have done. Would they have allowed them to score so many runs? We don't know.

"But these are the facts that Shubman Gill has to contend with."

India won the series 1-0, but after being held to a draw in Colombo, their chances of reaching the World Test Championship final took a significant hit.