Shubman Gill's remarkable performance in the ongoing Test series against England has drawn high praise from former India Test captain Virat Kohli. Kohli lauded the young captain for "rewriting history" with his exceptional batting display. Gill's consecutive centuries and significant run accumulation have solidified his position as a key player for India.
Gill's stellar performance at Edgbaston saw him amass a staggering 430 runs across both innings of the second Test. He scored 269 runs in the first innings, followed by a commanding 161 in the second. This feat makes him only the second Indian, after the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, to score a double century and a century in the same Test match.
Kohli, who retired from Test cricket in May, expressed his admiration for Gill's achievements on his Instagram account. "Well played star boy. Rewriting history. Onwards and upwards from here. You deserve all of this," Kohli wrote, acknowledging Gill's outstanding performance and potential for future success.
Gill's outstanding performance also led him to surpass Kohli's record for the most runs by an Indian batter in his maiden series as captain, with 585 runs in four innings. Kohli previously held the record with 449 runs against Australia in the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. He also broke Kohli's records for most runs by an Indian in a Test match as captain and highest score by an Indian captain.
Gill's scores of 269 and 161 at Edgbaston have broken numerous records. His aggregate of 430 runs in the match is the second-highest ever by a batter in a Test match, only surpassed by Graham Gooch's 456 runs (333 and 123) against India at Lord's in 1990. Gill also crossed the 500-run mark in just four innings of the series.
India set a formidable target of 608 runs for England in the second Test, thanks to Gill's century and contributions from KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja. The team declared their second innings at 427 for six on Day Four. India is now in a strong position to win the second match of the series at Birmingham.
