The second day of the second India vs England Test in Birmingham belonged to one man – Shubman Gill. The Indian cricket team captain slammed a majestic 269, a knock which will be talked about a lot in future, as he carried a dominant India to 587 in 151 overs of their first innings. It was a statement knock where Gill passed every challenge with his grit and determination to bat for more than eight hours and post the highest score by an Indian batter in Tests in England, as well as for an India captain overall.
With his technical excellence in attacking bowlers and being water tight in defence against good balls, Gill left everyone in awe of his knock laced with 30 fours and three sixes. Gill is now the second Test captain to make 200 in England, which is now the seventh highest score for an Indian batter in Tests.
Just before Tea on Day 2, Gill wanted to take a quick single but Akash Deep was not quite ready. He was slow to start as Akash Deep as Ollie Pope, at mid on, showed alacrity to dive to his right, and threw the ball towards the keeper.
It was not an accurate throw and gave Akash Deep some extra time to get back to his crease. Gill, after reaching the non-striker’s end, gave Akash Deep a piece of his mind. “Dekh kya raha hai? Bhaag jaldi se (What are you staring at? Run quickly)” Gill screamed. This was Gill’s first outburst at a teammate after becoming India’s Test captain.
— Nihari Korma (@NihariVsKorma) July 3, 2025
Apart from that, Gill was a picture of calm.
At 211/5, a total worth 450 wasn’t a practical possibility for India. But Gill stepped up in stunning fashion to hit his career-best knock in Tests and ensure India ended 13 runs away from reaching 600, which is now their fourth highest total in Tests.
Ravindra Jadeja (89) and Washington Sundar (42) gave him solid support in adding partnerships of 203 and 144 for the sixth and seventh wickets with Gill, meaning that the lower-order runs did come for India. For England, who didn’t get much help on offer, Shoaib Bashir ended with figures of 3-167, while Chris Woakes and Josh Tongue took 2-81 and 2-119 respectively.
With IANS inputs
