The honours of the opening day of the second Test at Edgbaston belonged to Indian skipper Shubman Gill. The crowd in Birmingham was witness to some sensational batting as England’s bowlers were made to work hard. Gill was unbeaten on 114 at the end of play with India on 310/5. Already 1-0 down in the series, India need to draw level as England look to double their lead in the five-Test contest.

Gill faced 216 balls and hit 12 fours. This was his second century as Team India Test captain and he has now scored tons in his first two Tests as captain. Quite a remarkable achievement. He will turn 26 this year so that means time is on his side to build his legacy both as a batter and leader in the red-ball format.

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Gill’s exceptional knock actually took him straight into the history books. He achieved a massive feat. He is now the youngest Asian Test skipper to score multiple centuries on English soil at 25 years and 297 days. He’s also the first player from Asia to do so before turning 26. Graeme Smith is the only other captain to score multiple Test tons in England at the age of 25 or lower. He was 22 years and 180 days and did it back in 2003. The only other Asian skipper to score even one Test 100 in England at 25 or lower is Javed Burki of Pakistan.

The right-hander is only the third Indian captain to score multiple Test tons in England. He had made 147 in the first Test at Headingley in Leeds. He now joins Mohammad Azharuddin and Virat Kohli. He’s also the second Indian skipper to score consecutive Test tons on English soil. Azharuddin did it in 1990. Vijay Hazare did the same in 1952 but it was a home series.

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Gill is also the fourth Indian captain to score 100s in his first two Tests at the helm. Virat Kohli, Sunil Gavaskar and Vijay Hazare have done so. It is also Gill’s third straight Test ton in three games vs England. He made one in the Dharamsala Test in 2024. Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid (twice) and Dilip Vengsarkar are the other Indians who have done it.

India need the lower order to wag in order to post a score that can challenge England. In the first game, the hosts easily chased down a target of 371 to win by five wickets. India have never won a Test at Edgbaston and they have also never won a series in England after losing the first Test. Gill’s men will have to break two huge jinxes to end up on the winning side. If they go 1-1 to Lord’s, the series is wide open. Should England make it 2-0, then India will be all but out of it. If by some chance it remains 1-0, India have a lifeline to hold on to. What will eventually happen? We shall soon find out!