Edgbaston, July 3: Shubman Gill etched his name in cricketing history on Thursday, becoming the first Indian and Asian captain to score a double century in a Test match in England. The milestone came on Day 2 of the second Test at Edgbaston, as Gill pulled Josh Tongue for a single to reach the landmark.
The Indian skipper’s innings didn’t just make history — it rewrote records. His eventual score surpassed Sunil Gavaskar’s 221 at The Oval in 1979, setting a new mark for the highest individual Test score by an Indian batter on English soil. Before Gill’s feat, the best by an Asian batter in England was Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 193 at Lord’s in 2011.
Gill’s double ton came off 311 balls and placed him among the elite club of Indian captains who have scored double centuries in Test cricket, joining legends like MAK Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and MS Dhoni. The overall record for most double centuries by an Indian captain remains with Virat Kohli, who has seven.
Until Thursday, the highest score by an Indian skipper in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries was 192, held by Mohammed Azharuddin against New Zealand in Auckland in 1990. In England specifically, Azharuddin’s 179 in Manchester stood as the record for an Indian captain’s highest score before Gill’s knock.
Gill’s innings featured 21 boundaries and two sixes, making him only the third Indian to score a double century in England after Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid. His historic innings has put India in a commanding position in the ongoing Test series.
