Indian captain Shubman Gill has become the latest batter to cross the 3000-run mark in the longest format during the opening day of the series concluding second Test against Sri Lanka.
Gill walked out to bat after the visitors lost openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal by the 17th over.
He became the 28th Indian batter to reach the mark, joining some of the biggest names in the country’s Test history.Gill reached 3,000 Test runs in his 43rd match and became the fourth-youngest Indian to achieve the feat. He was 26 years and 349 days old when he reached the milestone.
Sachin Tendulkar remains the youngest Indian to score 3,000 Test runs. He reached the mark at 23 years and 228 days. Virender Sehwag did it at 26 years and 157 days, while Dilip Vengsarkar reached the landmark at 26 years and 263 days.
Gill had scored 3,004 runs from 77 innings at an average of 43.53 after reaching the milestone. His record included 11 centuries and eight fifties, with a highest score of 269.
The landmark came in only Gill’s 43rd Test and added to a growing list of achievements in his career. He made his Test debut against Australia in 2020 and has since established himself as one of India’s main batters.
Gill is now also India’s Test captain. He took over the role earlier this year and has continued to be an important part of the batting line-up.
India’s list of 3,000-plus Test run-scorers includes several of the country’s best batters. Tendulkar leads the list with 15,921 runs, followed by Rahul Dravid with 13,265 and Sunil Gavaskar with 10,122. Virat Kohli, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag have also scored more than 8,000 runs.
Other Indian batters to cross 4,000 Test runs include Sourav Ganguly, Cheteshwar Pujara, MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma.
Among the current Indian players, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant are also part of the 3,000-run club. Gill became the latest Indian to join the group.
Meanwhile, Gill’s milestone came after India made a change to their playing XI for the second Test with Kuldeep Yadav missing out for failing to fully recover from a viral illness.
That allowed the debut of 33-year-old Saransh Jain, who received his maiden India Test cap from Ravindra Jadeja before the start of play. The Madhya Pradesh all-rounder earned his opportunity after years of domestic cricket.
At the toss, India captain Shubman Gill won and chose to bat first.
IND Vs SL, 2nd Test: Playing XIs
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Saransh Jain, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
Sri Lanka: Lahiru Udara, Kamil Mishara, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), Sonal Dinusha, Niroshan Dickwella (wicketkeeper), Keshara Nuwantha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando.