Shubman Gill broke a plethora of records by scoring 269 in India’s first innings of the second Test against England at Edgbaston. It was the highest score by an Indian captain in the format, surpassing Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 254 against South Africa in Pune in 2019. It was part of an exceptional series for Gill overall, which also happened to be his first as India’s Test captain. He has won the ICC’s player of the month award for his efforts and he has now said that the innings in Birmingham is something he would cherish forever.
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“It feels great to be named the ICC Player of the Month for July,” Gill said. “This time it holds a lot more significance since it has come for my performances during my first Test series as captain. The double ton in Birmingham is obviously something I will cherish forever and will be one of the highlights of my tour to England,” he said.
Gill said that the series was a learning experience for him. With every match going into the fifth day, and some into the dying minutes of the final sessions as well, the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is being called one of the greatest series of this century. It ended tied 2-2, just the third time that India have managed to draw a series in England.
“The Test series against England was a learning experience for me as captain and we had some outstanding performances from both sides, which I am sure players from both sides will remember for a long time. I would like to thank the jury for selecting me for this award and my teammates who have been with me during the course of this exciting series. I look forward to continuing my form in the season ahead and bring more laurels for the country,” said Gill.
Gill went on to score 161 in the second innings of the same Test. He finished with a whopping 754 runs in the series, breaking Sunil Gavaskar’s record for most runs by an Indian captain in a Test series. He also narrowly missed out on Gavaskar’s record for most runs by an Indian in a Test series. In July alone Gill scored 567 runs at an outstanding average of 94.50 across three Tests.
His 754-run tally stands as the second-highest by any Test captain in history, surpassed only by Don Bradman’s 810 runs as Australian captain during the 1936-1937 Ashes. Notably, Gill entered the England series without a single Test century in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia), having yet to play a Test match in New Zealand.
