Shubman Gill matched a feat only done by one player in the world before
Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Shubman Gill created history at Birmingham
- Gill has two centuries in as many matches as India's Test captain
- The 25-year-old history matched a feat only done by Greame smith before
Shubman Gill continued the dream run to his captaincy tenure with the bat as he scored another century during the first day of play in the second Test against England on Wednesday (July 2) at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Headingley. Gill's unbeaten knock of 114 helped India go into stumps on the opening day at 310-5.
Gill had also scored a ton in his captaincy debut in the series opener of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Leeds with a knock of 147 in the first innings. The 25-year-old was appointed captain of the Test team before India flew to England following ex-captain Rohit Sharma's retirement.
Shubman Gill Creates History
With his stunning start to life as captain, Gill has become the youngest Asian captain in history to score multiple tons in England (25 years, 297 days). Infact, he is the first player form Asian and India to achieve the rare feat before turning 26. Greame Smith is the only other player to have multiple centuries on English soil as captain from a visiting team at the age of 25. The South African star quite remarkably achieved the feat (aged 22 years 180 days). Smith had remarkably scored back-to-back double tons as captain in the Proteas' tour of England in 2003. Javed Burki of Pakistan is the only Asian captain to score a century in England at the age of 25.
Visiting Captains With Most 100s in England Aged 25 Or Lower
| Player |
Centuries |
| Greame Smith (South Africa) |
2 |
| Shubman Gill (India) |
2 |
| Javed Burki (Pakistan) |
1 |
| Billy Murdoch (Australia) |
1 |
Gill has become only the third Indian captain to have multiple tons in England and has equalled Mohammad Azharuddin and Virat Kohli with two tons in the country while leading the country. Angelo Matthews is the only other Asian captain with multiple Test tons in Asia.
Gill is also the second Indian captain with back-to-back centuries on English soil after Azharuddin in 1990. Vijay Hazare also hit back-to-back tons against England while leading India in 1952, but that was in a home series.
The 25-year-old is only the fourth Indian after Virat Kohli (3), Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar to score a century in both of their two Tests as captain.
This was also Gill's third ton in a row against England, having also hit the three-figure mark in the 2024 Dharamshala Test. Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Rahul Dravid (twice) are the only other Indian players to achieve the feat.
