Australia fast-bowler Scott Boland has expressed his delight after dismissing India opener Shubman Gill cheaply in the first innings of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final on Thursday (June 8).
For the second day in the row in the ongoing Test, Australia dominated the proceedings to put themselves firmly in the driver’s seat. Riding on centuries from Travis Head and Steve Smith, Australia scored 469 in their first innings. India needed a strong start with the bat after conceding the big total but their hopes were dashed by Australia’s bowlers.
At the end of the day, India were in a precarious position, reeling at 151 for 5. They still trail Australia by 318 runs and need to score 119 more runs to avoid a follow-on. Pat Cummins gave his side a solid start by dismissing his India counterpart Rohit Sharma for 15 in the sixth over. In the very next over, Scott Boland sent back Shubman Gill for 13 to put Australia firmly on top.
Gill came to England for the WTC final on the back of a stunning display in this year’s IPL. He finished the competition as the highest run-scorer, scoring 890 runs with the help of 4 fifties and 3 tons. However, his IPL form counted for little in the WTC final as he failed to give India a good start with the bat.
Scott Boland on dismissing Shubman Gill:
Scott Boland managed to deceive Gill with a delivery that landed just outside off stump before nipping back in. The young opener decided to leave the ball only to rue his decision as the ball went on to hit the top of the off stump. The wicket was Boland’s first Test wicket outside Australia and he was delighted with it.
“Really exciting, pretty nervous before the start of this Test but nice to get into this game,” Boland said. “He’s (Gill) a very good player, nice to knock him over early. We are in a very good spot now.
“We are strong after 2 days, the pitch is a bit up and down and hopefully it will be harder for India to bat tomorrow. It (the uneven bounce) felt like that in the middle, a couple balls taking off, a couple keeping low,” he added.
Ajinkya Rahane and KS Bharat were at the crease at stumps. India would be hoping that the duo bat them to a good position and at least manage to avoid the follow-on.
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