In Victory, Shubman Gill Rewrites History, Breaks Multiple Sachin, Kohli Records

NEW DELHI (IANS)- Shubman Gill’s masterful batting in the second Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy saw the India skipper shatter a flurry of records, surpassing cricketing legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.

India secured their first-ever Test victory at Edgbaston, a venue where they had previously failed to win, by defeating England by 336 runs. This win in Birmingham also marked India’s largest away Test win by runs, and Gill’s maiden triumph as Test captain. His exceptional performance with the bat saw him score 269 and 161, accumulating a total of 430 runs in the match – the second-highest aggregate in a single Test, just 26 runs behind Graham Gooch’s 456, which was coincidentally achieved against India in 1990.

His first-innings score of 269 at Edgbaston stands as the highest individual Test score for an Indian batter in England. He also achieved the distinction of the highest score by an India captain in Tests, surpassing Kohli’s unbeaten 254 against South Africa in Pune in 2019.

Also, Gill became only the second batter to register two 150-plus scores in a single Test, a feat previously accomplished by Allan Border, who scored 150* and 153 against Pakistan in Lahore in 1980.

Gill’s 269 is also the highest score by an Indian batter in Tests outside Asia, leapfrogging Tendulkar’s 241 not out at the SCG in 2004, which was the previous record. This remarkable innings was also just the second Test double century by an India skipper away from home, with Kohli achieving the first against the West Indies in 2016. In the process, Gill broke Tendulkar’s 21-year-old record for the highest score by an Indian batter in overseas (excluding other Asian countries) conditions.

Gill has been in phenomenal form throughout the first two matches of the series, accumulating 585 runs at an impressive average of 146.25 in just four innings, making him the leading run-scorer in the series.

With 585 runs, he recorded the highest tally in the first two Tests as captain, bettering Kohli’s 449 runs. Moreover, it is the second-highest aggregate in the first two matches of a series, behind Graeme Smith’s 621 in England in 2003. He also achieved the unique feat of scoring the most runs in a captaincy debut series.

He is the first Indian and only the fifth batter to be involved in four century stands in a single Test. The others to achieve this rare milestone are Hanif Mohammad (vs West Indies in 1958), Graham Gooch (vs India in 1990), Mark Taylor (vs Pakistan in 1998), and Joe Root (vs Pakistan in 2016). Gill formed a 203-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja for the seventh wicket and then a 144-run stand with Washington Sundar in the first innings of the Edgbaston Test. The Indian captain was also part of two three-figure partnerships with Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja in the second innings.

Gill is also the second Indian to score hundreds in both innings of a Test in England, following Rishabh Pant, who achieved this in the series opener at Headingley.

The 25-year-old became the third Indian captain to score hundreds in both innings of a Test, joining the ranks of Gavaskar and Kohli. Gavaskar scored 107 and 182 not out against West Indies at Eden Gardens in 1978, and Kohli scored 115 and 141 against Australia in Adelaide in 2014.