Shubman Gill truly lived by his 'Prince' tag and delivered yet another history knock on Day 2 of the ongoing second Test against England in Birmingham on July 3. Shubman Gill converted his century to a handsome double century to become the first Indian to crack 200 at Edgbaston in Tests against England. Not just this he also became the first Indian captain to smash double hundred at Edgbaston against England in Tests.
Shubman Gill's historic double century at Edgbaston
India's Test captain Gill brought up his century in 311 balls.
The 25-year-old's maiden double century in the longest format marked a significant milestone, as it is now his highest ever score in a Test match. He surpassed his previous best score of 147 runs, which he had achieved against England.
Furthermore, Gill has joined an elite group of Indian cricketers by becoming only the sixth Indian captain to score a double century in Tests. The other five captains who have accomplished this feat are MAK Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli.
Within this exclusive club, Virat Kohli holds the distinction of being the only captain to score a double century in an away Test. With this innings, Gill becomes only the second Indian captain to achieve a double hundred in an overseas Test match.
Adding to his achievements, Gill is now the second-youngest captain to reach a score of 200 in Tests, with MAK Pataudi being the only younger captain to have achieved this milestone.
This remarkable double century is also now the highest score made by an Indian captain in an away Test. He has overtaken Virat Kohli's previous record of 200 runs, which he scored against the West Indies in North Sound back in 2016.
Indian captains with double century in Tests:
| Player | 200/200s | H.S | Opponent | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M.A.K Pataudi | 1 | 203* | England | Delhi |
| Sunil Gavaskar | 1 | 205 | West Indies | Mumbai |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 1 | 217 | New Zealand | Ahmedabad |
| MS Dhoni | 1 | 224 | Australia | Chennai |
| Virat Kohli | 7 | 254* | South Africa | Pune |
| Shubman Gill* | 1 | 200* | England | Birmingham |
Gill also has become the first Asian captain to score a Test double century on English soil, and also the first across all SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) conditions. This feat is particularly significant considering that he entered the series under pressure, with an average of just 25.7 in SENA countries and only two half-centuries to his name. However, demonstrating exceptional performance under pressure, Gill scored his second century of the ongoing England tour and went on to achieve his maiden score of 150 or more in Test cricket.
Notably, Gill also became the first Indian batter in 23 years to score 150 or more runs in a Test innings in England, following Rahul Dravid's memorable 217 at The Oval in 2002. As captain, Gill also broke Mohammed Azharuddin's record for the highest individual Test score by an Indian skipper in England, which was 179 runs at Old Trafford in 1990.
Adding to his list of accomplishments, Gill, at the age of 25, surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most runs scored by an Indian captain in an away series. With an unbeaten total of 323 runs in the current series so far, Gill has exceeded Tendulkar's tally of 290 runs from the 1997 tour of Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja played a composed and valuable innings on Day 2, scoring 89 runs before narrowly missing out on his second century at Edgbaston by just 11 runs.
As of 127 overs, India were well placed at 499/6 with Gill (225*) and Wasington (23*) still intact on the crease.