Shubman Gill delivered when it mattered once again as he scored his second century in as many matches in the ongoing Test series in England.
The India captain scored an unbeaten 114 on the first day of the second Test at Edgbaston as the visitors reached a respectable 310-5 at stumps.
Gill held the innings together after opener Yashasvi Jaiswal had scored a typically entertaining 87.
India lost quick wickets to be 211-5, but all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (41 not out) helped Gill avoid a further collapse in an unbroken stand of 99.
Gill thus continued his excellent form in England. The newly appointed India captain had scored 147 in the first Test at Headingley. There, India had posted five individual hundreds but still lost the match – the first time it had happened in more than 60,000 games of first-class cricket.
But the 25-year-old Gill, thrust into the India captaincy following the shock retirement of Rohit Sharma, led by example again.
“I think he has been amazing the way he has been batting,” Jaiswal said after stumps.
“It's just incredible to see him bat, and as a captain also, he has been amazing and I think he is very clear in his head what he needs to do with the team and we are very confident in what we are going to do.”
Gill broke several records en route to his century on Wednesday.
Gill became just the ninth overseas captain to score hundreds in both the first and second Tests of a series in England. The list includes stalwarts like Don Bradman (1938 Trent Bridge and Lord's) and Garfield Sobers (1966 Old Trafford and Lord's).
Gill also created history by scoring centuries in his first two Tests as captain. England great Alastair Cook scored centuries in his first five Tests, Australia legend Steve Smith had tons in his first three, while India greats Virat Kohli and Sunil Gavaskar also reached three figures in their first two games in charge.
Also, Gill's century included only 4% false shots. According to CricViz, that was the lowest figure for a Test hundred in England since 2006.
Interestingly, Gill matched Kohli's record at this stage of his career. The current Test captain scored his 16th international century in his 138th innings. Kohli too had 16 international tons by his 138th innings. Both averaged just over 45 with around 5,500 runs at this point in their careers.
