New Delhi [India], August 6 : Indian skipper Shubman Gill's batsmanship graduated to multiple classes above the ordinary, while his tactical brilliance was on display on multiple occasions as the lanky batter from Punjab helped India seal a commendable series draw in England.
He led a young team in transition, without their superstars Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who hung up their whites one by one following a disastrous Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, both individually and as a team.
Gill was under immense scrutiny heading into the series, having not touched even the 40-run mark outside Asia since his dazzling 91 at Brisbane against Australia way back in 2021, which launched him into stardom. Leading up to the series, the right-hander had failed to deliver quality performances away from home and no way it was acceptable for someone often hailed as the 'heir apparent' to legendary Virat Kohli. But a few tweaks in technique and being in a better place mentally helped him bat with the concentration and calm of a monk on the pitch and chewed into a major chunk of Test cricket's history books.
Here is a Test-by-Test breakdown of all the records Shubman broke in the series:
-1st Test at Leeds: Scores of 147 and 8
This was Gill's first century outside Asia and a moment of redemption. It was a reminder to his critics and perhaps a reassurance to himself that he belonged at the highest level of Test cricket. After legends like Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar and Virat, he was the fourth Indian to score a century in his first-ever innings as a captain.
He also crossed the 2,000 Test run mark in the innings, just like Virat had done so during his first of twin Adelaide centuries against Australia back in 2014. This was the first of many instances where he would go on to share the record books with the 'Little Master' and his idol Virat.
-2nd Test at Edgbaston: Scores of 269 and 162
If the first century at Leeds was a bucketful of runs, this marathon effort was an unstoppable torrent of water. Gill's willow produced classy drives and cuts, middling the ball perfectly. His bat did not hit, rather it had started singing, at least for the ones who had believed in him since day one. The sheer will power to stay at the crease for hours, mental fortitude, and patience took the centre stage as he played a massive role in India's first-ever Test win at Birmingham, that too by a whooping 336 runs. Balancing the mental load of captaincy and producing two successive match-winning masterclasses is a feat not many can boast of, but Gill can surely go on for hours about it.
Having scored a ton at Dharamshala against England last year, Gill joined the elite list of Dilip Vengsarkar, Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Azharuddin to score centuries against the Three Lions in three successive Tests. His first innings score was a monumental 269 in 387 balls, with 30 fours and three sixes.
He became the sixth Indian with a 250-plus score in Tests, joining Virender Sehwag, Virat, VVS Laxman, Dravid and Karun Nair but the difference was that he became the first one to achieve this feat outside the Indian subcontinent, outclassing Sachin Tendulkar's classy 241* against Australia in Sydney way back in 2004.
Gill also became the first-ever captain to score a double ton against England in England, outdoing Mohammad Azharuddin's 179 at Old Trafford in 1990 and also went past Sunil Gavaskar's 221 at The Oval in 1979 to register India's best individual score in England to his name.
Gill joined the elite company of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rohit Sharma to become the fourth Indian with a double century in Tests and ODIs both.
Once again, the 'Prince' surpassed the 'King Kohli' as his knock went past Virat's 254* against South Africa in 2019 to achieve the highest score by an Indian captain.
The 25-year-old strokeplayer also became the first Asian captain with a double century in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia (SENA), the previous best score being 193 by Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan at Lord's in 2011.
Later, with his second innings knock of 161 in 162 balls, with 13 fours and eight sixes, Gill produced the second-highest aggregate of runs in a single Test (430 runs), below England's Graham Gooch (456 runs after scoring 333 and 123 against India at Lord's back in 1990).
He also became the second batter to register 150-plus scores in both innings of a Test after Allan Border (150* & 153) against Pakistan in Lahore in 1980. Gill's outing is also the first instance of a 250-plus and 150-plus score in a Test by a batter.
Gill also outdid Virat (243 and 50 against Sri Lanka in Delhi, 2017) to have the highest aggregate in a match by an Indian captain. He also joined his idol as the second player to record three hundred in his first two Tests as captain.
-3rd Test at Lord's: Scores of 16 and 6
While the law of averages caught up and Gill sustained a failure at sports' most iconic venue, he nonetheless overtook Dravid (602 runs in England back in 2002) to have the best tour of England by an Indian.
-4th Test at Manchester: Scores of 12 and 103
A third successive failure in the first innings meant that the captain was facing a brief slump, which was only natural after three big centuries. However, in a bid to overcome the 311-run first innings trail, Gill had a brilliant 188-run stand for the third-wicket with KL Rahul, after India was reduced to 0/2 in the first over itself. With a 238-ball 103 consisting of 12 fours scattered all over the park, Gill brought up his fourth century of the series. This innings once again highlighted Gill's immense mental fortitude and ability to dominate even though the stakes were against him.
Besides Gavaskar, it was time to be mentioned in the same breath as Sir Don Bradman of Australia, as he became the captain with the joint-most Test centuries in a series (four) alongside Gavaskar and Don. He also joined Gavaskar and Virat for the most centuries by an Indian during a Test series.
Gill also became the first player to hit four hundreds in their debut Test series as captain.
This was also India's first century at Manchester after 25 years, since a teen Sachin Tendulkar hit his maiden Test ton back in 1990 to secure a draw.
With a total of 722 runs to his name by this point, he outclassed Virat yet again, securing the most successful South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia (SENA) tour by an Indian batter. Previously, Virat held this record, having smashed 692 runs in four Tests with four centuries against Australia way back in 2014, when the Delhi-born batter had a first brush up with captaincy.
He also overtook his contemporary Yashasvi Jaiswal's 712 run tally from last year to have the most runs by an Indian against England in a series.
Gill levelled with his ODI opening partner Rohit Sharma for the most runs in ICC World Championship (WTC) history by an Indian.
-5th Test at The Oval: Scores of 21 and 11
While a suicidal run-out in the first innings did not let Gill go big despite being in a fine touch, he nonetheless overtook Gavaskar's total of 732 runs (against West Indies back in 1978-79) for the most runs by an Indian captain during a Test series.
Gill ended the series with a massive 774 runs at an average of 75.40, with four centuries. This is the second-best amount of runs by an Indian in a Test series (at the top being Gavaskar with 774 runs against West Indies in 1971).
Also, after Don Bradman's 810 runs against England in 1936/37, this was the second-highest runs by a captain in a Test series.
The Indian skipper also crossed the 6,000 run mark in international cricket at the end of the series. By the end of the series, his international statistics stand at 6,000 runs in 118 matches at an average of 46.15, with 18 centuries and 25 fifties. In Tests, he has 2,615 runs at an average of 41.35 in 37 Tests and 69 innings, with nine centuries and seven fifties.
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