India captain Shubman Gill continued his sublime form to score a second consecutive century in the Test series against England. With his 199-ball knock to reach the triple-figure mark, Gill became the fourth India captain to score consecutive centuries in his first two matches as a Test captain.
On a day marred by criticism over India's selection calls for the second Test in Birmingham, Gill stood tall with a well-composed innings, bringing up his century in the final session of Day 1 with a swept boundary through backward square leg off a fuller delivery from Joe Root. Gill roared like there was no tomorrow, then took a bow and kissed his bat as the Indian dressing room rose to their feet in applause.
Gill became the fourth Indian captain to score hundreds in the first two matches in the leadership role and the first since Virat Kohli, who had three such knocks to his name after assuming the role in the tour of Australia in December of 2014. The others on the list are Sunil Gavaskar and Vijay Hazare.
Gill also became the third India captain to score centuries in consecutive Tests against England, after Hazare (Delhi and Brabourne in 1951-52) and Mohammad Azharuddin (Lord's and Old Trafford in 1990). He is also the fifth Indian player to score three straight tons in Test cricket against England, having scored the first - 110 off 150 - in the Dharamsala Test during the home series in 2024. Others on the list include Azharuddin (1984-1985), Dilip Vengsarkar (1985-1986), and Dravid (2002 and 2008-2011).
Gill also became the first Indian batter to score centuries on the opening day of a Test in England on two separate occasions, having achieved the feat earlier at Headingley last month.
Despite Gill’s knock and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 87, it was England who finished the day with momentum. Opting to bowl first at home, Chris Woakes produced one of his best spells with the new ball—four maidens in five overs—including the dismissal of opener KL Rahul.
Karun Nair and Jaiswal briefly shifted the pressure back with a flurry of boundaries, but Brydon Carse struck just before lunch to remove Nair. The opener then stitched a 66-run stand with Gill, but eventually ran out of patience and gifted his wicket to Ben Stokes. Rishabh Pant followed in similar fashion, falling into Shoaib Bashir’s trap. In the very next over, Woakes picked up his second wicket, removing Nitish Kumar Reddy.
