Gill rewrites history, joins elite club of Gavaskar and Virat
Edgbaston: Shubman Gill writes his name into Indian cricket’s history by becoming the fourth Indian Test captain to smash centuries in each of his first two matches as a skipper with his strong performance in the ongoing series against England. Gill joins elite club of legends like Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli.
Indian captains to score centuries in each of their first two Tests as captain:
Vijay Hazare -164*, 155 & 6 (1951)
Sunil Gavaskar – 116 & 35*, 205 & 73 (1976–1978)
Virat Kohli – 115 & 141, 147 & 46 (2014–2015)
Shubman Gill- 147 & 8, 114* (2025)
India scores 310/5
On Wednesday India ended Day 1 of the 2nd Test against England at 310/5, with captain Shubman Gill unbeaten on 114 and Ravindra Jadeja on 41. The day was marked by strong partnerships, missed milestones, and crucial middle-order collapses.
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Gill brought up his 7th Test century and second as captain with style—back-to-back boundaries when he was on 94.
He completed his ton in 199 balls with 11 fours.
This is also Gill’s second consecutive century in the series, indicating form and temperament under pressure.
Yashasvi Jaiswal played fluently for his 87 runs, but once again fell short of a century—his 6th time missing a ton by under 15 runs.
He was dismissed by Ben Stokes, for the second time in the series, at a time when he looked set.
Key Partnerships:
(1) Jaiswal & Karun Nair: 80 runs (2) Jaiswal & Gill: 66 runs (3) Gill & Pant: 46 runs
Collapse After 208:
Rishabh Pant was dismissed for 25.
Debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy fell shortly after for just 1. From 208/3, India suddenly slipped to 211/5.
Early Setbacks:
K.L. Rahul fell cheaply (2) to a Chris Woakes inswinger—clean bowled. Promoted to No. 3, Karun Nair looked promising (31 off 50) before being caught at slip. This was Nair’s first Test innings at No. 3; he was earlier slotted lower down.
Indian XI Changes & Strategy:
Jasprit Bumrah rested (workload management); replaced by Akash Deep. Sai Sudharsan dropped after modest debut; Nitish Kumar Reddy brought in. Shardul Thakur dropped; replaced by spin all-rounder Washington Sundar to strengthen batting. Notably, Kuldeep Yadav was overlooked despite speculation. The team management opted for a batting boost over spin depth.
England Unchanged:
England retained the same XI from the 1st Test, having announced it early on Tuesday.
Wicket-takers on Day 1: Chris Woakes – 2, Ben Stokes – 1, Brydon Carse – 1, Shoaib Bashir – 1
Pitch & Conditions:
Overcast conditions in Birmingham early in the day prompted cautious Indian batting at the start.
Tactical Takeaway:
India is walking a tightrope between long-term player management (Bumrah rested), youth experimentation (Akash, Nitish), and balancing all-round options (Washington over Kuldeep).
Gill’s form remains a silver lining. But with middle-order fragility resurfacing, England will look to make quick inroads on Day 2.