NEW DELHI: Indian skipper Shubman Gill’s batting reached a brand new degree throughout India’s exhausting-fought 2-2 sequence attract England. The elegant proper-hander from Punjab not solely delivered with the bat but in addition impressed together with his tactical acumen, guiding a younger crew in transition—with out stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired from Tests following a disastrous Border-Gavaskar Trophy marketing campaign in Australia.Gill entered the sequence underneath immense scrutiny, having not crossed 40 outdoors Asia since his iconic 91 at Brisbane in 2021. Often touted as Virat Kohli’s ‘heir apparent,’ Gill wanted to show himself. A couple of technical tweaks and a calmer mindset helped him discover the main target and self-discipline required to carve his identify into Test cricket’s historical past books.
Test-by-Test breakdown of Shubman Gill’s historic sequence:1st Test – Leeds (147 & 8):Gill’s first century outdoors Asia was an announcement of redemption. It was a reminder to his critics and maybe a reassurance to himself that he belonged on the highest degree of Test cricket. He grew to become solely the fourth Indian—after Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, and Virat Kohli—to attain a century in his debut innings as Test captain. He additionally 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 an imposing 269, laced with 30 fours and 3 sixes, adopted by a blistering 161 off 162 balls within the second innings. His marathon effort powered India to their first-ever Test win at Birmingham—by a report 336 runs. He grew to become:
third Test – Lord’s (16 & 6):The iconic venue noticed Gill falter, however even in failure, he overtook Rahul Dravid’s 602-run tally in 2002, registering probably the most runs in a single England tour by an Indian.4th Test – Manchester (12 & 103):A poor first-innings begin was adopted by a gritty comeback. After India slumped to 0/2, Gill cast a 188-run stand with KL Rahul and scored a affected person 103 off 238 balls. His fourth century of the sequence tied him with Sunil Gavaskar and Don Bradman for probably the most centuries by a captain in a single Test sequence. He additionally grew to become:
fifth Test – The Oval (21 & 11):A promising begin was reduce quick by a run-out, however even then, Gill etched one other report—surpassing Gavaskar’s 732 to report probably the most runs by an Indian captain in a Test sequence.Final Tally:Gill completed the sequence with 774 runs at a median of 75.40, together with 4 centuries—the second-highest for India in a single sequence after Gavaskar’s 774 vs West Indies in 1971. Globally, solely Don Bradman (810 vs England in 1936/37) has scored extra as a captain in a Test sequence.