Former Indian Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara questioned Shubman Gill’s leadership after the second Test match against Sri Lanka ended in a draw at Colombo on Thursday. Pujara reckons Gill was a bit defensive with his tactics on the final day of the game.

India needed four more wickets to bundle out the hosts, and Dhananjaya de Silva’s team had a mere lead of 16 runs at the end of the fourth day’s play. However, Sonal Dinusha played an unbeaten knock of 133 runs off 264 balls and got support from the likes of Keshara Nuwantha and Lahiru Kumara to keep Indian bowlers at bay.

Pujara said Gill lacks experience and he will learn his lessons with time.

Pujara said on Cricinfo, “He [Gill] was a little defensive. He hasn’t led the team in a lot of games, so he is a little inexperienced. I am sure he will learn from his mistakes. You need to attack. For someone like Keshara, you need to have that silly point and gully when either Manav Suthar or Ravindra Jadeja is bowling. You need to put that pressure when you are ahead in the game. Sri Lanka was not ahead in the game, it was India.”

The former Indian number three Test batter said India had a better chance of winning the second Test if they had not enforce the follow-on but admitted that the visitors took the decision while keeping the weather in mind.

“I genuinely feel that if India hadn’t enforced the follow-on, they had a better chance of winning the game. You have bowled 90 overs in Sri Lankan conditions, which is very hot and humid. When you get on to the field for the next 80-90 overs, you have the pressure of picking up 10 wickets. But the weather wasn’t looking good, so it’s tough to criticize the follow-on decision.”

Indian bowlers threw everything they had at Sri Lankan batters but could not find a way through.