Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Shubman Gill's Century Not Enough as Karnataka Defeat Punjab

Shubman Gill produced an incredible comeback in Punjab's second essay following a lackluster first innings in their Group C match against Karnataka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Against the hosts, he scored a brilliant century, his fourteenth First-Class century. Questions were raised about the 25-year-old batter's red-ball batting skills after he struggled with the bat in the recently finished Border-Gavaskar Trophy. On Saturday, the third day of the Ranji Trophy encounter against Karnataka, the Punjab batsman silenced his detractors with a strong century.

He reached the incredible milestone at the time of writing and was removed shortly after, as Punjab collapsed to 187/9 in 62 overs. Gill was the only batter to get set and withstand some outstanding bowling from the Karnataka bowling unit as he returned to the Ranji Trophy after a two-and-a-half-year absence. He hit three maximums and fourteen fours throughout his innings. Punjab once again collapsed under duress from the Karnataka bowlers after being humiliated by being all out for 55 in the first innings, but Shubman held one end and advanced the innings. 

Shubman Gill Roars at Ranji Trophy 2024-25:

Only three of his fourteen boundaries were on the on-side line. Gill hit all of his sixes on the off-side, which was the area of the field that the Punjab captain favoured the most. Punjab was on the verge of a crushing innings loss since none of his other colleagues rose to the challenge. During their team's second innings, the top order—aside from Gill—failed badly, as none of them managed to reach the 20-run mark.

While players like Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Yashasvi Jaiswal were unable to make an impression with the bat in round six of the Ranji Trophy, Shubman was one of the few senior stars from the Indian side who was able to shine. Karnataka chose to field first, which caused chaos on the first day. Both Abhilash Shetty and Vasuki Koushik split seven scalps between them. Just 29 overs into the day, Punjab fell for the meagre aforementioned total, with only two of their batters managing to reach double figures. Karnataka and Punjab were in fourth and fifth place, respectively, before round six.

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