India captain Shubman Gill refused to dwell on the decision to enforce the follow-on after the second Test against Sri Lanka ended in a draw, insisting
that his team had done everything possible to force a result after spending nearly 250 overs on the field.
India were left frustrated by Sri Lanka's resistance, but Gill felt there was little more his side could have done given the circumstances. Sonal Dinusha scored a stunning century yet again as Sri Lanka survived in the second innings, forcing a draw.
"Honestly, nothing. I mean, we fielded for about 250 overs, three days consecutively, and we did everything we can. They played brilliantly. I think the batters played really well, and they had a lot of skill and a little bit of luck going their way. So I don't think we could have done anything differently," Gill said at the post-match presentation.
Gill also defended India's decision to enforce the follow-on, pointing to the uncertainty surrounding the weather and the possibility of losing valuable playing time on the final day.
Despite the draw, Gill identified several positives from India's 1-0 series victory, with the emergence of young players standing out. Among them, left-arm spinner Manav Suthar emerged as one of the biggest talking points.
Asked what had impressed him about Suthar, Gill said: "Everything [I liked], how consistent he is and how well the ball - how well he releases the ball and how the ball goes off from his wrist, from his fingers. He's a very pleasing bowler to see and I think he's going to be someone who's going to be very, very crucial for us in the upcoming years. "
Gill also highlighted the performances of Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel and Prasidh Krishna, underlining the depth emerging within the Indian Test setup.
"I think so far there have been a lot of positives for us. Padikkal was brilliant, KL was really good, Manav bowled brilliantly, and Prasidh in both the innings, bent their back, both the fast bowlers. So I think we did everything we can," the India captain continued.
With India heading to New Zealand in November before a strong home series, Gill remains hopeful of keeping India's World Test Championship ambitions alive.
