Shubman Gill Joins Elite Club with Centuries in First Two Tests as Captain

Shubman Gill’s red-hot form with the bat has reached historic heights. On Day 1 of the second Test at Edgbaston, the young Indian captain brought up a classy unbeaten 114 — his second century in as many games this series — and in the process, entered an elite club of visiting captains.

Gill’s knock followed the 147 he scored at Headingley in the first Test, making him only the second Indian skipper after Mohammad Azharuddin to score centuries in both the opening Tests of a series in England. Across cricketing history, just nine visiting captains have managed this feat — and now, Gill is one of them. 

The 25-year-old isn’t just rewriting records against England; he’s making waves in Indian cricket history too. Gill now joins Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, and Virat Kohli as only the fourth Indian captain to notch up centuries in each of his first two Tests as skipper. He also becomes just the second Indian captain to register a ton at Edgbaston, after Kohli. Among Indian batters, only Sachin Tendulkar, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja have Test centuries at this ground. 

Gill’s purple patch against England stretches back to last year, when he made 110 in Dharamsala during the final Test of the series. With this knock at Edgbaston, he becomes just the fourth Indian to score centuries in three consecutive Tests against England — joining the esteemed company of Azharuddin, Rahul Dravid, and Dilip Vengsarkar. This latest hundred takes his overall Test tally to seven, with an equal number of fifties. According to ESPNcricinfo, Gill now has over 2,140 runs in Test cricket at an average north of 38. Impressively, more than 900 of those runs have come in away Tests. 

Gill walked in with India in a tricky spot at 95/2 and immediately took charge with calm and composure. He put together a 66-run stand with the aggressive Yashasvi Jaiswal for the third wicket, followed by 47 runs alongside Rishabh Pant. But just as India looked set for a dominant finish to the day, they lost Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy in quick succession. 

That’s when Ravindra Jadeja joined his captain in the middle, and the duo ensured there were no further hiccups. By stumps, the pair had added an unbroken 99-run partnership for the sixth wicket, guiding India to a strong 310/5. It was another day where Gill didn’t just bat — he led by example. And the way he’s going, this might just be the beginning of something very special.