Edgbaston, Birmingham: Shubman Gill etched his name in the record books with a stunning 269 in the second Test against England, becoming the highest-scoring Indian Test captain in history. His monumental knock surpassed Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 254 against South Africa in Pune (2019), setting a new benchmark for leadership with the bat.
A Landmark Knock for Indian Cricket
Gill’s 269 is also the highest individual Test score by an Indian batter outside Asia, breaking the long-standing record of *Sachin Tendulkar’s 241 at Sydney (2004)**. Additionally, it is the third-highest away Test score by an Indian, behind only Virender Sehwag’s 309 in Multan and Rahul Dravid’s 270 in Rawalpindi, both achieved on the 2004 Pakistan tour.
In the context of Tests in England, Gill joins an elite list—only two Indian batters before him had scored double-centuries on English soil:
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Sunil Gavaskar’s 221 at The Oval in 1979
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Rahul Dravid’s 217 at The Oval in 2002
Gill’s 269 now stands as the highest Test score by an Indian in England, and eighth overall among visiting batters in English Tests. Only Graeme Smith (277, 2003) and Zaheer Abbas (274, 1971) had previously scored more at Edgbaston as visiting players.
A Display of Supreme Control
Gill displayed exceptional discipline during his innings, registering a control percentage of 93.28%, as per ESPNcricinfo’s analytics. Since 2006, only Ian Bell (96.45%) and Jamie Smith (94.6%) have had higher control percentages while scoring Test hundreds in England.
Historic Feats Achieved by Gill
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Seventh-highest score in Indian Test history
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Highest score by any batter in Tests after being put in to bat, surpassing all Indian records
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Fifth Indian with double centuries in both Tests and ODIs, joining Tendulkar, Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, and Gayle
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One of only seven players to score centuries in each of their first two Tests as captain (others include Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli, McGlew, Alastair Cook, and Steven Smith).
India’s Dominance in Lower Order
India showcased resilience and depth as they added 376 runs after the fall of Nitish Kumar Reddy, marking the highest-ever total for India’s last five wickets in a Test.
Gill’s knock was also supported by Ravindra Jadeja, who continued his trend of impactful lower-order partnerships. This innings marked Jadeja’s third 200-plus partnership for the sixth (or lower) wicket—only behind Adam Gilchrist (6), BJ Watling (5), and MS Dhoni (4).
Jaiswal Joins Legends
Yashasvi Jaiswal continued his impressive form with a 50+ score in all seven of his Tests against England, matching legends Viv Richards and Mark Taylor, who achieved similar feats in their early careers.
