India captain Shubman Gill insisted his team gave everything it had on the field and expressed no regrets over his tactical decisions after Sri Lanka mounted a heroic rearguard effort to secure a draw in the second and final Test at the SSC Ground on Thursday.
Looking ahead to India’s upcoming international assignments, Gill signed off by talking about the importance of maintaining high preparation standards as they target a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. But it was a brilliant game, and I think Test cricket won today. “Honestly, nothing (could have been done differently). You field for so many overs over three days; we did everything we could, but they played really well. Addressing questions regarding his decision to enforce the follow-on, Gill noted that match decisions are made in the moment and cannot be judged through hindsight. “In hindsight you can think (about the follow-on), but you can only talk about these things in hindsight. You take the best decision you can in the moment, and something doesn’t go your way. “I think there are a lot of positives for us. Also, learning from the opposition. They were under a lot of pressure, and the way they came back was tremendous. A lot of positives for us. Devdutt was brilliant, Manav was really good, and so was KL. Fast bowlers also did everything they could. Very exciting times for us.
Their batters showed a lot of skill and had a little bit of luck as well,” Gill said at the conclusion of the game, as India got a 1-0 series win. Despite being denied a 2-0 series sweep, Gill pointed to several positive takeaways for his side.
