Birmingham: Shubman Gill made his name in the cricketing annals on July 5, 2025, becoming just the second Indian and ninth overall to hit a double century and century in the same Test match when he achieved the feat during the second Test against England at Edgbaston.
Gill’s remarkable deed was achieved on the fourth day of the second Test in Birmingham, where he added a scintillating 100 off 129 balls in India’s second innings after his monumental 269 in the first innings. Batting at No. 4, Gill walked in after India lost their second wicket at the start of play on Saturday and unfurled a masterclass, unflustered by England’s bowling. His ton in the second innings, which he reached in the second session, had 12 boundaries and a six and was his eighth and third of the series and fifth against England.
The 25-year-old’s 269 on the first innings, scored off 387 balls and studded with 30 fours and three sixes, had already raised the bar as India’s highest score by a Test captain, eclipsing his own record (254*) against South Africa in 2019. It also over took Sunil Gavaskar’s 221 at The Oval in 1979 as the highest individual score by an Indian in England. Gill’s approach was disciplined without being tentative, with a false shot percentage in the innings of only 3.5%, in what was the most controlled Test century on English soil since 2006 according to CricViz data. His alliance with Ravindra Jadeja (89) and then Washington Sundar after that helped India declare on 587 all out and seize the initiative.
Gill turned monster Indian day on Day 4 of the final Test with India having resumed their second innings at 142/2. England’s bowlers, from Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir, were powerless to stop his precise strokeplay. “Gill is playing in a different stratosphere,” said ex-England captain Michael Atherton on Sky Sports, pointing out that neither the great Sachin Tendulkar nor current India captain Virat Kohli managed a Test double hundred in England. Gill’s hundred ensured that India remained in command, piling up runs and setting England a stiff chase as the hosts wobbled on 77/3 at close of play on Day 2.
Recent heroics by Gill have been added to his previous tour performances, which started with an unbeaten 127 in the first Test at Headingley but was overshadowed after India became the first team in 127 years of Test cricket not to secure victory despite enforcing the follow-on, losing by five wickets. His 269, followed by 100 now at Edgbaston, ranks him as part of the fine company of Vijay Hazare as the only Indians to produce a double century and a hundred in the same Test. Worldwide, he is the ninth to do it, sharing company with names like Graham Gooch and Michael Vaughan. “I trained my mind during IPL 2025 to play Test cricket,” Gill told Sky Sports, attributing his time facing the Dukes ball in the nets in Ahmedabad.
In three innings on this tour, Gill has gone past Sachin Tendulkar’s 290 the in 1997 Sri Lanka tour as the highest by an Indian captain in an away series. His aggression and batting have shut critics after starting with modest average of 25.7 in SENA in whites prior to this series. With India looking to draw the five-Test series, Gill’s historic effort has turned the tide with the third Test scheduled from July 10 at Lord’s.
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