A fully stretched Gill leapt to his left at extra cover to complete the catch of Kamindu Mendis off Kuldeep Yadav . Mendis had danced down the pitch to drive Kuldeep’s fuller delivery. Some other fielders might have just attempted to stop the ball, but not Gill. The ball was almost touching the ground as Gill plucked it from mid-air and ensured it did not pop out. Even Gill knew he had done something special as he threw the ball up in the air in celebration.
Shubman Gill ‘s athleticism came to the fore on the third day of the first India vs Sri Lanka Test at Galle on Monday.
India, resuming on their overnight score of 460/9, opted against using the heavy roller before the start of play, hoping to allow the pitch to deteriorate further while their last pair batted on. Krishna departed for two off seven balls, leaving Kuldeep unbeaten on 13 at the other end. Because of persistent rain, the match officials announced a late change in the umpiring setup, prior to the start of the day’s play, which began 15 minutes earlier due to the loss of overs on Days 1 and 2.
“Wow, he had no right to take that,” said Sanjay Manjrekar on air. “Honestly, it was never within his reach. Even the batter would have thought, ‘Yeah, it’s in the air, but it was well away. One of the best catches that you will see in that area. The decision, however, backfired as their innings lasted less than three minutes, with Sri Lanka wrapping up the innings quickly.
