Shubman Gill notched up yet another record on Thursday when he became the player with the most runs for an Indian captain in a single Test series in the 5th and final match vs England at the Oval. The India skipper currently has 737* runs, edging past names like Sunil Gavaskar who had 732 runs vs West Indies in 1978/79 and Virat Kohli who dominates the top 5 list with the next 4 entries all featuring him.
Kohli is third with his 655 vs England in 2016/17, 4th vs Sri Lanka with 610 in 2017/18 and fifth with 593 vs England in 2018. Gill, meanwhile, has 4 centuries in the ongoing series vs England becoming only the 3rd captain after Sir Donald Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar to achieve 4 tons in a series.
He averages over 90 for the series and was not out on 15 when the players went off for an early lunch after a shower arrived at the Oval.
7⃣3⃣7⃣* runs and counting 🙌
Shubman Gill now has the most runs for an Indian captain in a single Test series 👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/Tc2xpWMCJ6#TeamIndia | #ENGvIND | @ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/jNvINjXuXN
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 31, 2025
In the match, India negotiated an awkward first morning of the final test against England at the Oval relatively smoothly, reaching 72-2 at lunch as the hosts, leading the series 2-1, failed to take full advantage of overcast conditions ideal for their all-seam attack.
England’s bowlers, without injured captain Ben Stokes or rested paceman Jofra Archer, ran in hard enough and extracted some good bounce from what has been a very batter-friendly wicket this season, but generally lacked a cutting edge.
Recalled Gus Atkinson was England’s liveliest bowler and he struck in the fifth over as Yashasvi Jasiwal was beaten by a ball that cut back sharply and thudded into his pad.
It was given not out but Ollie Pope, in as captain in place of Stokes and who had a remarkable 14 unsuccessful reviews when leading the team last year, finally got one right as DRS overturned the decision to dismiss the opener for two.
KL Rahul, with over 500 runs to his name from the first four matches, looked relatively untroubled before trying to cut a ball from Chris Woakes that was too close to his body and succeeded only in playing on to depart for 14.
Story continues below this ad
At 38-2, England and a packed Oval crowd sensed an opportunity but, with some weak sunshine replacing the dark clouds, things started to look more comfortable for the tourists, who need a victory to square the series.
India’s number three Sai Sudharsan was very watchful in the first hour but started to time the ball nicely and was unbeaten on 25.
(With agency inputs)
