In Chennai, Rishabh Pant completed an emotional restart in Test cricket while Shubman Gill added another chapter to his growing reputation in the red-ball format as their centuries capped India’s total dominance over Bangladesh on the third over of the first match here on Saturday. At tea time, Bangladesh were 56 for no loss and chasing an improbable 515 after India, 81 for 3 overnight, declared their innings over at 287 for 4 and extended their lead to 514. Gill and Pant led the hosts’ run-scoring run with an alliance of 167 off 217 balls for the fourth wicket. Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan were at bat for Bangladesh as tea time began. Yet numbers matter little on the day as Pant and Gill’s hundreds were more a testament to their will to rise above formidable personal obstacles. Pant’s turmoil after the horrific car crash in December 2022 was well documented and the way he reacted after hitting his sixth Test hundred with a two against Shakib Al-Hasan underlined how much value he placed on that knock. Pant stood in the middle of the pitch with his eyes closed, head tilted upwards and bat raised – perhaps silently praying to the Lord to give him back cricket, or maybe even life. Gill watched the whole scene from a reasonable distance, not wanting to intrude on a very private moment of his partner. Soon the two young men melted into a warm embrace as Chepauk went wild. Perhaps the moment was also a tribute to Pant equalling Chennai’s own ‘Thala’ MS Dhoni’s record for most Test hundreds by an Indian wicketkeeper-batsman. Gill’s problems were not as pronounced as Pant’s as they were more mental than physical and stemmed from his lack of confidence in the traditional format. However, since hitting a hundred against England in Visakhapatnam earlier this year, Gill seemed to have turned things around and he backed up that upward trajectory with his fifth Test hundred, which he scored with a single off Mehidy Hasan Miraz. But while Gill, who started with 33 overnight, and Pant were in the office, all those feelings were hidden as it was time to enjoy the sight of them beating the Bangladesh bowlers with their very different methods. The left-hander started rather quietly, trying to concentrate before getting going. The decisive moment came when he pulled off-spinner Miraz for a four at the first drinks break of the day. From that point on, Pant’s dismantling of Miraz became a feature of the innings as he scored his fifty off 88 balls. After reaching fifty, the 26-year-old unfurled some of those trademark Pant shots. Pant, who started from 12 overnight, moved around the crease like a trapeze artist and his sixth delivery over fine leg off Mahmud thrilled a sizeable crowd here at the weekend. He was dropped by Najmul Hossain Shanto off Shakib on 72 but that wasn’t even a hindrance and he duly completed his hundred before offering a return catch to the hard-working Mehidy. Minimalism is the bread and butter of Gill’s batting technique as he plays shots with little swing. The short-arm pull in front of the face or that zero follow-through shot through cover that he often took off Nahid Rana and Mahmud Hasan may not be from the batting manual but it is productive nonetheless. Gill added another 53 runs off 51 balls for the fifth wicket with KL Rahul, taking India’s lead to over 500. Perhaps inspired by the efforts of Gill and Pant, Bangladesh found their own courage and finished the session without losing a wicket, a rarity for them in this Test.