Rishabh Pant, a comeback that people would probably remember for ages. From not knowing his fate after the horrific crash, to scoring his 6th century in Chepauk Pant has achieved what many dream of. He brought up his 6th ton in test cricket and in his own fashion playing all kinds of shots that he is known for.

The other hero from India’s historic win at the Gabba, Shubman Gill also brought up a serene fifth century, marking his presence after a poor star on Day 1 of the game. The heroics of the batting duo were very well backed up by the Indian bowlers led by R Ashwin, the hometown boy, and the fielders with some exceptional catches.

These were the best batting conditions of the match, with the pitch not breaking up yet and the average seam movement decreasing from 1.3 degrees on day one to 0.4 degrees on day three. India scored 206 runs on day three with just 16 incorrect shots in 41 overs, despite their attacking strategy to set up the declaration. When Bangladesh batted, the pitch was still flat, but R Ashwin’s long overdue oversaw India’s dominance in the game. Three low catches of differing degrees of difficulty were credited to the bowlers by the fielders.

Both aggressive batters Gill and Pant, who were accustomed to counterattacking, understood that they were the only ones who could get themselves out and lowered their heads for big knocks. Once inside, they leaped out of the crease to hit sixes while continuing to show respect for good balls.

More spectacular was what the two accomplished outside of the sixes. In contrast to Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, who on the second evening simply attempted to force their will on the bowling, these two respected the bowling from the start of the day and were happy to defend for a long without being concerned about close-in fielders and edges. Nobody attempted to press the matter until the seventh over of the day when Gill did it masterfully by hitting two sixes over wide long-on.

Both the batters put on the accelerator post-lunch with Pant bringing out his trademark flicks, sweeps, and one-handed sixes, while Gill continued his exceptional stroke play. They brought up their respective centuries giving India a lead of 514 runs, leaving Bangladesh with a huge task in hand.

When Bangladesh came out to bat, the openers showed full intent scoring runs without losing wickets. The pitch didn’t offer much to the bowlers either, however, Ashwin with all his class ensured that the visitors did not chip away easily on Day 3.

He hadn’t planned on getting his first wicket when Shadman returned to try to play a length ball behind square. It took his leading edge for a low catch for Gill at short midwicket because it wasn’t short enough.

Then, in order to get rid of Mominul Haque, who never looked at home, Ashwin created a beauty. He had to play the line because of the drift, and his turn was just sharp enough to miss the edge but not the stumps. Mushfiqur Rahim was a cat on a hit tin roof, slog-sweeping Ashwin for a six before hitting one low to Rahul at mid-on.

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