• Source:JND

Punjab vs Saurashtra, Ranji Trophy Updates: India's Test captain Shubman Gill had a disappointing outing on his return to the Ranji Trophy as he was dismissed for a two-ball duck while playing for Punjab during their match against Saurashtra at the Niranjan Shah Stadium C in Rajkot on Thursday.

Gill came out at the no.5 position, but failed to open his account as he was dismissed by Parth Bhut. On the last ball of the 20th over of Punjab’s first innings, Bhut trapped Gill in front of the wickets. His dismissal left Punjab struggling at 73/4. Gill, who is India's Test and ODI captain, would like to come up with a big show with the bat for Punjab in the second innings of the ongoing match and help them keep alive their chances of qualifying for the knockouts.

Gill, who was leading the Indian team in the third and final ODI match against New Zealand in Indore only on Sunday (January 18) night, flew to Delhi on Monday morning to be in time with the state side. He had a disappointing outing with the bat in Indore as India lost the match by 41 runs, eventually losing the three-match ODI series 1-2. The right-handed batter smashed half-centuries in the first two matches, but couldn't make an impact in the series decider. Notably, Gill is yet to win an ODI series as the Indian captain.

The 26-year-old is not part of the Indian team for the five-match series against New Zealand, which started on Wednesday, January 21, as he has been dropped from the T20I team amid his poor form with the bat lately. He wasn't even picked in India's squad for the T20 World Cup 2026.

Talking about Gill's performance in red-ball cricket, he was the top run-getter in Test cricket in 2025. In his maiden series as India's Test captain, Gill produced memorable performances during the England tour. In the five-match series against England, Gill was the top run-getter with 754 runs to his name at an average of 75.40 on the back of four centuries and a double hundred.

He smashed multiple batting records as the five-match series between India and England ended in a historic 2-2 draw.

Meanwhile, Saurashtra were bowled out for just 172 runs in their first innings after opting to bat first. India's legendary all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja managed to score just 7 runs. Punjab's Harpreet Brar took six wickets for 38 runs in 18.1 overs.


Punjab vs Saurashtra Playing XIs, Ranji Trophy 2025-26

Punjab: Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Shubman Gill (C), Harnoor Singh, Uday Saharan, Anmolpreet Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Sanvir Singh, Harpreet Brar, Krish Bhagat, Prerit Dutta, Jassinder Singh

Saurashtra: Harvik Desai (WK), Chirag Jani, Jay Gohil, Arpit Vasavada, Prerak Mankad, Ravindra Jadeja, Sammar Gajjar, Hetvik Kotak, Parth Bhut, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Jaydev Unadkat (C)


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