Shubman Gill shines and shatters records as India make England toil at Edgbaston

South Wales Argus

3 days ago

At tea on Thursday evening Gill was in his element on 265 not out, not just a career-best knock but also the highest ever score by an Indian batter on English soil and the most by an India captain.
Having assumed the fabled number four slot once held by the great Sachin Tendulkar and most recently by fellow A-lister Virat Kohli, Gill removed any question marks about his ability to shoulder the burden of expectation.
It's Tea on Day 2 of the 2nd Test! #TeamIndia power along to 564/7, with captain Shubman Gill marching to 2⃣6⃣5⃣ 👌 👌
Third session of the Day to begin 🔜
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/Oxhg97g4BF#ENGvIND | @ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/2nkCZjO2x2
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 3, 2025
It was a torrid day for Ben Stokes' men, put in to field by their skipper in attempt to recreate the pattern of last week's win at Headingley. By tea they had shipped 254 runs in return for two consolation wickets, Josh Tongue bouncing Ravindra Jadeja out for 89 just before lunch and part-time spinner Joe Root bowling Washington Sundar for 42 deep in the afternoon session.
Both men played handy supporting roles to the exemplary Gill, who led stands of 203 and 144 in a princely performance.
England have made a habit of pulling unlikely wins out of unpromising positions but their chances of changing the course of this Test already appear dim and distant with more than three full days to play.
Day two has proved a challenge for England captain Ben Stokes and his team (Martin Rickett/PA)
Gill started play with 114 already under his belt and was in no mood to give it away on a pitch that was playing straighter and truer by the moment.
Ben Stokes took the new ball alongside Chris Woakes but neither man was able to summon any danger, an ominous warning about the run-fest that was about to unfold. Jadeja eased to his ninth fifty against England and Gill had soon surpassed the 147 he made in last week's series opener in Leeds.
A steady trickle of boundaries gave the scoring rate a bump, Jadeja punching back-to-back fours off Stokes and Gill taking a liking to Brydon Carse after he entered the fray. With a wafer thin margin of error for the bowlers, Carse found himself driven hard when he strayed too full and pulled round the corner when he dug in short.
England were keeping tabs on Jadeja's footwork, seemingly concerned about creating some additional rough for his own off-spin later in the game, but there was no formal intervention from the umpires.
Ravindra Jadeja scored 89 and put on more than 200 for the sixth wicket with Shubman Gill (Martin Rickett/PA)
Their own spinner, Shoaib Bashir, was not finding much joy and found himself clattered for two sixes in an over as he experimented with changes in pace and a lesser spotted 'carrom ball'.
Just when it seemed like England had nowhere to go, Tongue found just enough bounce to draw the error, Jadeja springing into evasive action and popping a catch to Jamie Smith.
Sundar's nervy start against Tongue gave England false hope of wrapping the innings up and they soon realised he was in for a long stay. They became visibly weary in the middle session, which saw 145 added to the total and a handful of signs that they were losing grip.
At one stage Root and Zak Crawley collided in an unsuccessful attempt to cut off one of Gill's 30 fours, part-timer Harry Brook served up five overs of inelegant medium-pace and a clearly fatigued Carse saw four byes skip through Smith's legs as he dragged one wearily down the leg side.
Gill's 200 came in 311 balls and the data showed a false shot rating of just five per cent. His next 50 was the quickest of the lot, comprising just 37 balls. Root hit Sundar's off stump with a neat off-break but his stony-faced celebration told the story of the day.