 "Shubman Gill scored a century off 159 balls for Punjab against Karnataka on Saturday. PTI")
India batter Shubman Gill scored a hard-fought century for Punjab on Day three of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match against Karnataka in Bengaluru on Saturday. Gill, who scored his 14th First-Class century, got to the milestone in 159 balls, hitting 14 fours and three sixes.
His last century prior to this for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy came in December 2019 against Vidarbha. However, his century came in a losing cause for Punjab, who lost to Karnataka by an innings and 207 runs on Saturday.
Shubman Gill is one of the several senior India batters who turned up for their respective states in the sixth round of Ranji Trophy, after the BCCI made it mandatory for all Team India players to do so .
BCCI’s decision came after India suffered a 1-3 Test series defeat to Australia Down Under, which not only meant they surrendered the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but also missed out on making the World Test Championship final . Gill had scored just 93 runs from three matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
Coming back to the Ranji Trophy game, Punjab were all out for just 55 in 29 overs in the first innings, with Gill scoring just four runs. Karnataka replied by posting 475 on the board following a double century from Smaran Ravichandran, which meant the hosts had a 420-run lead.
None of the batters, barring Gill, managed to convert starts and even three batters were dismissed for ducks. Punjab were dismissed for just 213 runs in their second innings.