Team India captain Shubman Gill played a classic knock of 269 runs at Edgbaston in India's second Test against England in the ongoing five-match series, helping his team post a mammoth 587 in the first innings. The 25-year-old, who is leading India in his first series as skipper, has become India’s highest scorer in a Test innings, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s 241 scored in the 2004 Sydney Test. Gill also became the first Asian captain to score a double ton in SENA countries.

Walking in to bat at No. 4 with India struggling at 161 for 3, Gill showed his calm and composed demeanour as he slowly yet steadily pulled India out of a dark hole. He was unbeaten on 114 at stumps on Day 1. On the second day, he added another 155, while sharing a 203-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja. He shared another partnership of 144 runs with Washington Sundar. In the first Test at Headingley, Leeds, Gill had scored 147. After his double hundred at Edgbaston, he became only the fourth Indian to record centuries in his first two Tests as captain.

Reflecting on his innings at Edgbaston, Gill said his focus was on enjoying batting and reaching the peak after getting a good start. “I mainly worked on my initial movement and my setup. Before this, I felt my batting was going well. I was scoring 30–35–40 runs consistently in Test matches. But at some point, I was missing that peak concentration time. A lot of people say that when you focus too much, you sometimes miss your peak time," he said.

“So, in this series, I tried to go back to my basics. I tried to bat like I used to in my childhood. I didn’t think about having reached 35–40 runs or about playing long innings. I just wanted to enjoy my batting,” he added.

“Sometimes, when you aren’t scoring runs fluently, you stop enjoying your batting. You focus too much on the need to score runs. I felt I had lost that in my batting. I was so focused that I wasn’t enjoying my batting as much,” Gill said.

Gill's double hundred is also the first by an Indian in an away Test since Virat Kohli in 2016, with the youngster also surpassing the former’s record for the highest score ever by an Indian Test captain.

While Gill hardly fumbled during his seamless knock, he said it was difficult to score smoothly on the Edgbaston pitch. “When I went in to bat before lunch on the first day, at tea I was on around 35–40 runs off about 100 balls. I came out and spoke to GG (Gautam Gambhir) Bhai. I told him, ‘I’m not getting runs freely, even though I have a lot of shots in my armoury.’ I also felt the ball was a bit soft,” Gill said.

“In the last match, I was scoring more fluently, but here it wasn’t coming as easily. Still, my mindset was that if the wicket is good and I am set, no matter how long I bat, I shouldn’t leave the match halfway.

“In the last match, I learnt that no matter how long you’ve been batting, under these conditions, there can be a collapse in the lower order at any time. So I tried to stay out there as long as I could. I wanted the bowler to get me out with a good ball, and I shouldn’t make mistakes. That was my approach,” he said.