New Delhi: Shubman Gill blossomed like flowers in an English summer as he batted with the swagger of a millionaire and an aristocratic touch to score an incredible 269 runs as India amassed 587 runs in the first innings on Thursday. If there is prose and poetry associated with anything English, this bowling attack on view, under the captaincy of Ben Stokes, looked washed out. That Gill became the third Indian batter to hammer a double hundred in England, after Sunil Gavaskar (221) and Rahul Dravid (217) in very different eras, showed that the new Indian skipper is ready to take on responsibility personally.
Indeed, for English captain Stokes, the very thought of winning the toss and opting to bowl first is based on the premise that, come what may, his batters will chase. That was the template in Leeds, where England won the first Test at the start of the series for the trophy rechristened in the name of Anderson-Tendulkar. Maybe, Stokes did regret his decision in two days as the Indian batters showed this wicket at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham was firm enough for even the good old Jumbo 747 jet with a full load to land.
But the story has to be on Gill, the champion batter who has shown that he relishes this opportunity to lead India and also bat. During the Indian Premier League 2025 edition, former India captain MS Dhoni had come out with a statement in one of his interviews: a captain has to set an example and lead. His hint was clear—nobody becomes captain by right; the leader has to prove himself, be it with bat or ball. Maybe, the choice of naming Gill as Team India captain in Test cricket was questionable, as he had not done well in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series in Australia at the start of this year. One thing is to get a chance and grab it with both hands, which the Indian skipper showed.
Gill has demonstrated in two Tests in succession that he will bat with responsibility. If the ton in Leeds was an appetiser, his double ton, studded with 30 fours and three sixes in Birmingham, will feature as an all-time high.
For those who have seen Gill bat in ODIs, he has been a delight. But the big deal is how he was going to shape up in Tests. There has never been any doubt about his talent, just that when passionate fans make comparisons with other leaders like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, it becomes a bit awkward. Well, if the grammar of Gill’s batting has to be described in short, he had mastered the text and the context.
His batting had that smooth touch of a Rolls-Royce engine, purring at great speed minus noise. Yet, what caught the human eye the most was his monumental, monk-like patience and application.
For sheer presence and putting a price on his wicket, he batted in no hurry on Wednesday. On Thursday, Gill showed that the English attack was toothless and could be tamed. The stuff which fast bowlers Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, and Josh Tongue came up with was average. On a placid pitch, to dig the ball short was of no use.
As for the Indian batting, which had functioned in fits and starts in the first Test, to see even someone like Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar apply themselves was creditable. Full marks for multiple partnerships which Gill figured in throughout his innings, where there was no hurry. At one stage, when he was stuck on 199 and Washington was picking the short-pitched stuff and hammering the ball, Gill may have been a patient onlooker. But once he scored that magical double ton, he was all smiles.
That he accelerated afterwards was a good sign, where he showed energy levels drawn from a reservoir. The tail could have done more for India, but overall, 587 runs is a big score put up by India, where Gill showed how to bat. He had eschewed the risky shots, and how he read the pitch and the bowlers was a masterclass. It’s a box office hit for sure.