Shubman Gill announces his captaincy era with historic century in 1st Test vs England, becomes first Indian to bag this mighty feat

Shubman Gill roared with the bat on his captaincy debut with a historic century on Day 1 of the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds on Friday, June 20. He became the first Indian to score a century on captaincy debut against England on English soil. He also became only the fifth Indian Test batsman to score a century in his debut innings as captain. This accomplishment places the newly appointed Indian skipper alongside an elite group of cricketers, including Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Virat Kohli.

Shubman Gill runs riot with incredible century

This was the 25-year-old's sixth Test century overall and his first outside the Asian continent. In addition to his centuries, he has also scored seven half-centuries in his Test career. His previous highest score outside of Asia was 91, which he achieved against Australia in Brisbane in 2021. Among the Indian cricketers who have scored a century on their captaincy debut, Vijay Hazare holds the record for the highest score, with his unbeaten 164 against England in Delhi in 1951. Virat Kohli also made a memorable start to his captaincy by scoring twin centuries against Australia in Adelaide in 2014.

Hundred in debut innings as India's Test captain:

Vijay Hazare - 164* vs England (Delhi, 1951)
Sunil Gavaskar - 116 vs New Zealand (Auckland, 1976)
Dilip Vengsarkar - 102 vs West Indies (Delhi, 1987)
Virat Kohli - 115 and 141 vs Australia (Adelaide, 2014)
Shubman Gill - 100* vs England (Leeds, 2025)

Moreover, Gill's century marks him as the 23rd player in the history of Test cricket to score a century in their debut innings as captain. He also ranks as the fourth youngest player to achieve this feat, with only Herbie Taylor, Alastair Cook, and Steven Smith being younger when they scored their debut captaincy centuries.

Gill raced to his century in 140 balls, his innings featuring 14 boundaries, providing stability to the Indian innings. He received excellent support from the other opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who also scored a century before being dismissed for 101. Following Jaiswal's dismissal, vice-captain Rishabh Pant joined Gill at the crease to further consolidate India's position.

At the close of Day 1, India were well placed at 359/3 Gill (127*) and Pant (65) intact on the crease.