Shubman Gill and Mayank Yadav face off in intense centre-wicket practice in Bengaluru following IND's defeat; hint at possible return for 2nd Test

Shubman Gill, who had recently scored a century in the second game against Bangladesh and had been in great form with three triple-figure scores this year, was set to play in the opening Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru. However, he unfortunately had to sit out of the match due to a stiff neck he experienced on the eve of the game.

India replaced Gill with Sarfaraz Khan in the line-up, although it was Virat Kohli who batted at No. 3 in both innings, scoring a duck and a fifty. Sarfaraz made the most of the opportunity, after sitting out in the Bangladesh Test series last month, scoring a majestic 150.

Moments after the defeat in Bengaluru on Sunday, with New Zealand wrapping up the 107-run chase in the opening session itself despite a delayed start due to rain, Gill was spotted in the ground, padded up and facing throwdowns. He then hit the centre-wicket, where he faced fast bowlers Prasidh Krishna and Mayank Yadav, who are currently with the Indian team as travelling reserves, along with Akash Deep, who was benched to make way for leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the Test match against New Zealand.

The sight of Gill practising in Chinnaswamy left fans hoping for a return to the India line-up for the second Test against the Tom Latham-led side, which will be played in Pune next week.

In fact, to further raise the hopes of the fans, who were served with the live visual of Gill's training session by broadcasters JioCinema, Rohit Sharma, speaking to media after the match, said: "He seems okay at this point of time."

However, the question remains about who will make way for Gill in the playing XI. India are unlikely to rest Sarfaraz, who notched up his maiden international ton under pressure on Day 4 of the match, which implies that KL Rahul might face the axe, after being left merely unfortunate with a dismissal for 12 off 16 against the second new ball on the fourth evening. Earlier in the opening innings, he was dismissed for a duck.