Ranji Trophy: India's U19 World Cup hero Shubhnam Gill emulates his coach Rahul Dravid in First-Class cricket

Playing for Punjab, 19-year-old Shubhman Gill finished Day two of the ongoing Ranji Trophy match against Tamil Nadu on 199 not out on Saturday. 

Punjab at stumps were 308 for 2 in 79 overs with Gill (199 off 234) and Mandeep Singh (50 off 131) at the crease. En route to 199, Gill has struck 21 fours and four sixes. 

Gill became just the 13th batsman and second Indian, after Rahul Dravid in the First-Class history to sleep on 199 not out. Gill's India Under-19 coach and former Indian cricketer, Dravid, had done that during the Adelaide Test between India and Australia in 2003. 

When Dravid resumed his knock on 199 the next day, he eventually ended with his fourth Test double, 233 off 446 balls. 

Ever since Dravid has taken the charge of India A and India Under-19, the bench strength has gotten better with every match. Under his guidance, India Under-19 finished as runner's up in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup before clinching the title earlier this year in New Zealand. 

Gill was declared player of the tournament at the ICC U-19 World Cup 2018 and he also won three Man of the Match awards at the World Cup. 

The Punjab cricketer scored 372 runs with four half-centuries and a hundred that came against Pakistan in the semi-final. He averaged 124 in the tournament and had an amazing strike-rate of 112.38.

After the tournament, Dravid had heaped praise on Gill as he said, "Shubman Gill is the most dedicated boy I've seen in my coaching career." 

So far, the Punjab cricketer has played five First-Class matches (excluding the ongoing match vs TN), and he had has 471 runs under his belt at a superb average of 58.87. He scored a fifty on debut and followed that with his maiden First-Class hundred in his second match.