NEW DELHI: Indian skipper Shubman Gill’s batting reached a new level during India’s hard-fought 2-2 series draw in England. The elegant right-hander from Punjab not only delivered with the bat but also impressed with his tactical acumen, guiding a young team in transition—without stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired from Tests following a disastrous Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign in Australia.Gill entered the series under immense scrutiny, having not crossed 40 outside Asia since his iconic 91 at Brisbane in 2021. Often touted as Virat Kohli’s ‘heir apparent,’ Gill needed to prove himself. A few technical tweaks and a calmer mindset helped him find the focus and discipline required to carve his name into Test cricket’s history books.
Test-by-Test breakdown of Shubman Gill’s historic series:1st Test – Leeds (147 & 8):Gill’s first century outside Asia was a statement of redemption. It was a reminder to his critics and perhaps a reassurance to himself that he belonged at the highest level of Test cricket. He became only the fourth Indian—after Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, and Virat Kohli—to score a century in his debut innings as Test captain. He also crossed 2,000 Test runs, echoing Kohli’s milestone in Adelaide (2014).2nd Test – Edgbaston (269 & 161):If Leeds was redemption, Edgbaston was domination. Gill scored a majestic 269, laced with 30 fours and 3 sixes, followed by a blistering 161 off 162 balls in the second innings. His marathon effort powered India to their first-ever Test win at Birmingham—by a record 336 runs. He became:
- The sixth Indian to score 250+ in Tests.
- The first to do so outside Asia.
- The first captain with a double hundred against England in England.
- Holder of India’s highest individual Test score in England, surpassing Gavaskar’s 221 (The Oval, 1979).
- The fourth Indian with double centuries in both Tests and ODIs.
- The first Asian captain to score a double ton in SENA countries.
- Second-highest match aggregate in Test history (430), behind Graham Gooch (456).
- Second player after Allan Border to register 150+ scores in both innings.
- First player in Test history to score both a 250+ and a 150+ in the same match.
- Indian captain with the highest match aggregate, surpassing Kohli’s 243+50 (Delhi, 2017).
- Second player, after Kohli, to score three centuries in his first two Tests as captain.
3rd Test – Lord’s (16 & 6):The iconic venue saw Gill falter, but even in failure, he overtook Rahul Dravid’s 602-run tally in 2002, registering the most runs in a single England tour by an Indian.4th Test – Manchester (12 & 103):A poor first-innings start was followed by a gritty comeback. After India slumped to 0/2, Gill forged a 188-run stand with KL Rahul and scored a patient 103 off 238 balls. His fourth century of the series tied him with Sunil Gavaskar and Don Bradman for the most centuries by a captain in a single Test series. He also became:
- The first to score four centuries in their debut series as captain.
- The first Indian to score a ton at Manchester since Sachin Tendulkar (1990).
- Holder of the most runs by an Indian on a SENA tour (774), surpassing Kohli’s 692 (2014).
- The highest Indian run-getter in a Test series vs England, overtaking Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 712.
- Joint-most runs by an Indian in World Test Championship history (level with Rohit Sharma).
5th Test – The Oval (21 & 11):A promising start was cut short by a run-out, but even then, Gill etched another record—surpassing Gavaskar’s 732 to record the most runs by an Indian captain in a Test series.Final Tally:Gill finished the series with 774 runs at an average of 75.40, including four centuries—the second-highest for India in a single series after Gavaskar’s 774 vs West Indies in 1971. Globally, only Don Bradman (810 vs England in 1936/37) has scored more as a captain in a Test series.
- He also crossed 6,000 runs in international cricket by the end of the tour. His updated career stats:
- 6,000 international runs in 118 matches at an average of 46.15, with 18 centuries and 25 fifties.
- In Tests: 2,615 runs from 37 Tests (69 innings) at 41.35, with 9 centuries and 7 fifties.
