'Don't Think it Backfired' – Gill Backs India’s Follow-On Call Despite Criticism

India’s spinners struggled to make a big impact during the second Test, managing just four lbw decisions and two bowled dismissals. With time running out and rain continuing to cause problems, India’s hopes of completing a 2-0 series win in Sri Lanka became difficult.

The visitors eventually finished with a 1-0 series victory despite choosing to enforce the follow-on. Gill said he was comfortable with that decision, as it looked the best option to him. According to the India captain, they made the call without knowing whether the conditions would allow a full final day of play, especially after rain had already interrupted the series several times.

"They played quite well. Generally on days four and five, it doesn't happen that lbw and bowled are completely out of the game. The balls that turned, they turned slowly and bounced quite high. So if batters are playing defensively, there is only mode of dismissal left: catches around the wicket.” said Indian captain Shubman Gill.

"In such a situation, we attacked a lot, but we were also under a little bit of pressure. Then we had to pull them back a little. But I think the pitch just kept getting slower. It is not as though the ball didn't turn, but the wickets were not in play at all. As a batter when you know these two modes of dismissals are not in play, batting gets a little easier especially when you are not looking to score runs.” added Shubman Gill.

Gill then said that if they have gotten one or two wickets, the results could have been different. However, he also applauded the grit of the hosts, saying they played really well under pressure.

"We tried our best. They also played really well. It is not as though the pitch was totally flat. So they deserve the credit for playing really well. On day four we created chances and momentum; if we could have got one or more wickets then maybe the result would have been different." said Shubman Gill.

When asked whether the decision to enforce the follow-on backfired, Gill simply dismissed the idea, saying the team made the decision based on the given conditions.

"I wouldn't say it has backfired here. We lost about 70 overs on the first four days so we had to keep that in mind. We didn't know how much cricket there would be on days four and five. And we wanted to take that chance.” said Shubman Gill.

“The question was, should we wait for one-and-a-half sessions on day four and set them about 400 or should we make them follow on and chase down 100 or so if needed? We felt more comfortable in chasing down because then you can do it according to the time left.” added Shubman Gill.