When Shubman Gill walked out to bat at Edgbaston, few would’ve predicted what was to come. By the time he walked off, 269 runs later, he had become a record-breaker, a history-maker and, perhaps, the future face of Indian Test cricket.
Let’s unpack this extraordinary knock that has cricket fans buzzing across the globe.
A First for India in England
At just 25, Gill became the first Indian captain to score a double century on English soil, a landmark achievement in itself. But that was only the tip of the iceberg.
His majestic 269 off 387 deliveries, laced with 30 boundaries and three sixes, didn’t just silence the England bowlers. It rewrote the record books.
Gill surpassed a 35-year-old record held by Mohammad Azharuddin for the highest score by an Indian skipper in a Test innings in England.
Outdoing Legends
Let’s take a moment to appreciate what this innings really means in the broader context of Indian cricket:
- Most runs by an Indian captain in a Test innings: Gill’s 269 overtakes Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 254 against South Africa in 2019.
- Highest Test score by an Indian outside Asia: He left behind none other than Sachin Tendulkar, whose unbeaten 241 at the SCG in 2004 had stood tall for two decades.
- Third-highest away score by an Indian: Only Virender Sehwag’s 309 in Multan and Rahul Dravid’s 270 in Rawalpindi are better than this one.
- Seventh-highest score for India in Test history: Another elite list, another feather in Gill’s cap.
Elite Company at Edgbaston
Gill’s 269 is now the eighth-highest score by a visiting batter in England and the third-highest at Edgbaston itself. Only Graeme Smith (277) and Zaheer Abbas (274) have gone bigger at this venue. That’s some fine company to keep.
And speaking of special clubs, Shubman Gill now joins a rare group of batters who have:
- Scored centuries in their first two Tests as captain – alongside the likes of Virat Kohli, Sunil Gavaskar and Vijay Hazare.
- Registered double-hundreds in both ODIs and Tests – joining the legendary quartet of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma and Chris Gayle.
A Statement Knock
This wasn’t just a milestone innings; it was a statement. After his composed century at Leeds in the series opener, Gill arrived at Edgbaston with momentum and confidence. What he delivered was not just a captain’s knock, but the kind of innings that sets the tone for an entire era.
He weathered the early movement, counter-punched when needed, and took complete control once set. It was classical Test match batting at its very best.
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