Gill channels Tendulkar-Kohli legacy with historic double ton at Edgbaston

Shubman Gill hardly looked like a newcomer to the revered No.4 position in India’s Test batting line-up — a spot once owned by Sachin Tendulkar and later carried forward by Virat Kohli. Handed the captaincy for the ongoing tour of England, Gill was tasked with leading a relatively inexperienced side, particularly in the absence of recently-retired stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Kohli. Rising to the occasion, Gill embraced the dual role with composure, marking his Test captaincy debut with a century at Headingley, even though it came in a losing cause.

On Thursday, the 25-year-old went one step further to cement his legacy at the crucial batting spot, by successfully converting his overnight century into a maiden Test double ton, steering India’s dominance further on Day 2 at Edgbaston.

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Gill does, of course, already have an international double-hundred, but this is his first in Test cricket. He follows Rohit Sharma in scoring his first Test double after his first ODI one.

In doing so, Gill also became the sixth India captain after MAK Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli to score a Test double century. Out of this exclusive club, Kohli is the only captain to score a double ton in an away Test, making Gill just the second Indian captain to get a double hundred in an overseas Test.

After having grinded for 199 balls for his first 100 runs, Gill consumed only 112 deliveries for the the second hundred. His brilliant knock included 21 fours and a six.

Earlier, Ravindra Jadeja missed his fifth Test century by just 11 runs even as India cruised to 419/6 at lunch on Day 2. The all-rounder was dismissed for 89 just before the break with an excellent bouncer by Josh Tongue. In his 137-ball knock, Jadeja slammed 10 fours and a six and, more importantly, was associated in a mammoth 203-run partnership for the sixth wicket with his captain.

Resuming the day at 310/5, Gill and Jadeja worked their way, carefully negotiating the England pacers of the early seam movement on the pitch, to first collect a single and complete their 100-run stand, before Jadeja went on to bring up his 23rd Test half-century – off 80 deliveries – soon after.

England introduced spin in the ninth over of the morning to induce a breakthrough, but with pretty ordinary bowling on offer the hosts were not in luck. By the end of the first hour, India had added 55 runs to their tally in 13 overs. Gill went on to register his best individual Test score with a punch through the covers off Brydon Carse that took him to 148, and two balls later raised his maiden 150 to become only the second Indian skipper to do so in England since Mohammad Azharuddin’s 179 at Old Trafford in 1990.

Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was targeted by the well-set Indian pair with Jadeja first lofting one down the ground for a six that raised India’s 400 followed by a slog-sweep behind square from Gill for maximum that brought up the 200 of their partnership.

Josh Tongue, at the other end, resorted to the short-ball ploy that had worked well for England on Day 1 and praised the breakthrough the hosts had grown desperate for with the prized scalp of Jadeja just at the stroke of lunch.

Jadeja’s departure brought in Washington Sundar, and the off-spinning allrounder gave his skipper great support to help India cross the 500-run mark without breaking a sweat before approaching for the tea break.

However, just like the previous session, Washington Sundar perished at the stroke of tea, eight shy of a brilliant half century, but his 144-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Gill, will make the Indian team management feel vindicated after all the criticism it coped following the team selection for the second Test.

At tea, India reached 264/7 with Gill going strong unbeaten on 265, and pacer Akash Deep heading back unscathed without opening his account.

Brief Scores: India 564/7 (Shubman Gill 265 not out, Ravindra Jadeja 89, Yashasvi Jaiswal 87, Washington Sundar 42; Chris Woakes 2/81) vs England