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The India vs Sri Lanka two-match Test series concluded on Thursday at Colombo. Shubman Gill marked his first series win as a captain in a two-or-more-match series. However, the result could have been worse for the Lankan side as they were on the verge of losing the second Test but earned a hard-fought draw. After the draw, former India batter Mohammad Kaif took a swipe at Gill’s captaincy.
Kaif also praised the fight of Sonal Dinusha as the hero for Sri Lanka, who saved the Test match after scoring a hundred in the second innings when the side was handed a follow-on. India won the series 1-0 as they defeated the Island nation in the first Test by a huge margin of 165 runs.
"He was reaching out for help": Mohammad Kaif on Shubman Gill's inexperience as captain
Mohammad Kaif, while speaking on his YouTube channel, took a dig at Gill’s poor captaincy and revealed that he was searching for help in the middle of the match, as he was unable to find any natural leaders who would help him while Sri Lanka were batting after the follow-on was forced.
"Shubman Gill, somewhere in the middle, looked like he was reaching out for help. He did not have too many experienced players in his team either. KL Rahul is there, of course, as the vice-captain, Rishabh Pant is there, and Jadeja has played around 90 Test matches, but he does not really come into the leadership role. They did not have many leadership-type players in the team."
"I saw Shubman Gill going up to the bowlers": Mohammad Kaif believes Shubman Gill failed to execute his plans
Kaif stated that the young captain was looking for answers while Sonal Dinusha was frustrating the Indian bowling attack alongside Lahiru Kumara. The latter played 90 balls and gave amazing support to Dinusha, who has been the thorn for the Men in Blue side in the series. Kaif revealed that interactions with the bowlers and failed execution were signs that the 26-year-old was searching for answers.
"Many times, I saw Shubman Gill going up to the bowlers, and there were also instances when they bowled two wides down the leg side. You would think, ‘We are trying to keep Sonal away, so let’s bowl a dot ball. It is the last ball of the over, so let’s bowl it outside.’ They had planned things to that extent throughout the Test match," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Sri Lanka earns a fighting draw
India had control of the Test match as they scored 503/9 in their first innings courtesy of twin hundreds from Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel. The Southpaw continued his red-hot form at No.3 for the Men in Blue as he played a knock of 117 runs, and Jurel scored 115*.
Sri Lanka’s Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Sonal Dinusha stood tall as the former scored 80 and the Southpaw scored 103 in the first innings, but they failed to save the follow-on as they were bowled out for 290 runs. After being forced to follow on, the same duo stood up as Sooriyabandara scored 92 runs and Dinusha played a knock of 133 runs as the Island nation saved the follow-on and drew the match.
