In a thrilling display of batting prowess, Indian captain Shubman Gill matched a phenomenal 47-year-old record held by cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar. Gill reached his half-century on Day 2 of the first Test against West Indies at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, marking his eighth Test fifty and his first as India’s skipper on home soil.
The last Indian captain to score 50-plus in their debut home innings as skipper was none other than Sunil Gavaskar himself, who scored a magnificent 205 against West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium way back in 1978. Gill’s achievement puts him in truly elite company.
However, the young captain’s innings came to an end shortly after his milestone. West Indies captain Roston Chase managed to break a crucial 98-run third-wicket partnership that Gill shared with KL Rahul. Gill, attempting an inventive reverse sweep, unfortunately found first slip, bringing his impressive knock to a close.
Interestingly, the reverse sweep has rarely been Gill’s undoing. He has attempted this shot against spin 17 times in his career, and this dismissal marks only the second instance of him being caught out while playing it.
Shubman Gill’s Captaincy Reign: A Run-Scoring Spree
Since taking on the mantle of captaincy, Gill has been in sensational form in Test cricket. His incredible tally of 754 runs has already surpassed Graham Gooch’s record of 752 runs set in 1990 for the most runs by a batsman in a Test series between India and England.
Furthermore, Gill has eclipsed Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 732 runs as captain against West Indies in 1978-79, a benchmark that stood for nearly five decades. This phenomenal run now brings him remarkably close to Sir Don Bradman’s legendary 810-run mark for a captain in a single series.
Continuing his dominant streak, Shubman Gill also shattered Virat Kohli’s record, becoming the first Asian batter to score over 700 runs in a series played in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries. His current 754 runs surpass Kohli’s 692 runs from the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, further highlighting Gill’s growing stature in international cricket.
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