Records were being rewritten by the minute at Edgbaston on Thursday as Shubman Gill inscribed his name in the annals of history with an extraordinary innings of 269 on Day 2 of the second Test against England. After concluding their first innings with a total of 587, the visitors strengthened their hold on the match with an outstanding new-ball spell from their fast bowlers. On a favorable batting surface, England found themselves in trouble early, falling to 25/3 within eight overs, but they managed to recover well, finishing the day at 77/3, still trailing India by 510 runs.
Shubman Gill scores his first double century in test cricket
The day was dominated by India and their captain, who batted for more than two sessions, ultimately becoming the highest scorer for the nation on English soil. Gill established two significant partnerships – a 203-run collaboration with Ravindra Jadeja (89) and a 144-run partnership with Washington Sundar (42) – bringing India close to the 600-run threshold, while managing the pressure surrounding his team’s selection and batting adjustments.
The first achievement of the day was Gill’s first 150 in this format, making him only the second Indian captain to reach this milestone in England since Mohammad Azharuddin’s 179 at Old Trafford in 1990. Resuming from where he had left off on Day 1, the captain was pivotal in the team’s rapid start to the day, accumulating 55 runs in 13 overs before the drinks break. With the pitch offering little assistance to the bowlers, England appeared lackluster and eager for a breakthrough as the sixth-wicket duo continued largely untroubled.
Spinner Shoaib Bashir faced the brunt of the well-established pair, with Jadeja first lofting a delivery down the ground for a six that brought up India’s 400, followed by a slog-sweep from Gill that secured the 200 of their partnership.
At the other end, Josh Tongue reverted to the short-ball strategy that had proven effective for England the previous evening, successfully obtaining a crucial breakthrough for his team. A bouncer from around the wicket caught Jadeja off guard with its pace and bounce, resulting in him gloving it to the wicketkeeper while attempting to defend. He fell just 11 runs short of a well-deserved century, having played a vital role in keeping England at bay for nearly the entire morning session, which yielded 109 runs for India at a rate of 4.36.
The post-Lunch session proved to be the most fruitful of the day for India, with 145 runs added in 31 overs, during which Gill achieved several milestones. Leading the way in the 144-run partnership with Washington, Gill appeared composed as he made the English bowlers toil on the flat pitch.
Washington Sundar supports the partnership
Washington encountered some early challenges with the ball during his innings before Lunch, but he managed to counterattack briefly when England employed the short-ball strategy against the left-handed batsman. After dismissing Ravindra Jadeja with a bouncer in the morning session, Tongue continued to use short deliveries to disrupt the allrounder. Washington awkwardly fended one delivery off his body, which eluded a dive from Bashir at fine-leg and raced to the boundary, and shortly thereafter, he dismissively pulled another ball high into the stands in the same area.
Tongue persisted with short deliveries, and at the beginning of his next over, Gill pulled one behind square for a single, making him only the third Indian to achieve a double century in England, while also becoming the second youngest Indian captain to do so, just two months shy of his 26th birthday. He continued to score freely against Bashir, compelling England to make a bowling change, but Harry Brook was met with equal disdain as Gill struck a hattrick of boundaries, including a cut shot and two perfectly-timed straight drives by the Indian captain.
Gill propelled India past the 500 mark just after the drinks break, marking the sixth occasion a visiting team has surpassed this total in an Edgbaston Test, and the first since South Africa in 2003. He also raised the hundred of his partnership with Washington. Bashir returned to bowl, and so did Gill’s aggressive approach as he advanced down the pitch to loft him down the ground for a six, before forcing part-timer Brook off the attack with an 11-run over that included two more boundaries added to his score. With the second of those fours, Gill became only the sixth Indian batsman to score 250 in Test matches.
In a bid to break the partnership, Stokes handed the ball to Root with Tea approaching, and the former captain delivered as expected. After a crucial contribution of 42 runs, Washington saw his middle stump knocked back by the part-time spinner. Gill went to Tea at 265 not out, well poised to become the third Indian with a triple, but a tame dismissal soon after the break brought curtains on his captain’s knock. For England, and Tongue, it was the short ball again that did the trick as Gill pulled it straight to square-leg to walk back for 269 – country’s seventh-best individual effort in Tests and the highest ever by an Indian captain.
Akash Deep holed out in the following over, and the last-wicket pair could add only 13 more to take India’s first innings total to 587.
England goes 2 down early in the same day
Stepping into the significant role previously held by Jasprit Bumrah, Akash had an unfortunate start, conceding 12 runs in his first over, which included two boundaries and a no-ball. However, he redeemed himself with a maiden over that resulted in two wickets shortly thereafter. Gill’s performance improved significantly when he executed a remarkable catch to his left at third slip, dismissing Ben Duckett, the Player of the Match from England’s victory at Headingley, for a duck. Additionally, Ollie Pope sent a leading edge towards KL Rahul at second slip while attempting to flick the first ball.
The home team had just begun to recover when Mohd. Siraj struck again. Zak Crawley made the mistake of poking at a delivery that was moving away from him, resulting in an edge to first slip, leading to his dismissal for 19 runs.
With 12.5 overs remaining in the day, England found themselves under unprecedented pressure, but Joe Root was accompanied by Brook, allowing them to reach stumps without further incident. Nevertheless, the hosts remain in a vulnerable situation, requiring an additional 310 runs to force India to bat again.
SCORECARD: England 77/3 (Joe Root 30*; Akash Deep 2-36) trail India 587 (Shubman Gill 269, Ravindra Jadeja 89, Yashasvi Jaiswal 87; Shoaib Bashir 3-167, Chir Woakes 2-81, Josh Tongue 2-119) by 510 runs
