Shubman Gill receives special message from Virat Kohli for his heroics at Edgbaston

Dubai: Indian Test captain Shubman Gill delivered a sensational performance in the second Test against England, scoring a career-best double century and a rapid-fire 161 to put India firmly in control of the match.

Gill’s remarkable display didn’t just lead India to dominance — it also saw him shatter multiple records, earning praise from cricketing greats. Among those applauding was former India captain Virat Kohli, who posted on social media: “Well played, star boy. Rewriting history… Onwards and upwards from here. You deserve all of this.”

In his debut match as captain, Gill made an immediate impact, scoring a composed 147 off 227 deliveries, which included 19 boundaries and a six. He went even further in the second match, notching up a monumental 269 off 387 balls — the highest score of his Test career — to power India to a commanding total of 587. In the second innings, he continued his dominance, smashing 161 off just 162 balls with a strike rate of 99.38, hitting 13 fours and eight sixes.

With a staggering match total of 430 runs, Gill etched his name into the record books as the first batter in 148 years of Test cricket to score both a double hundred and a 150+ in the same match. He also became the first Indian in 87 years to amass over 400 runs in a single Test and the second-highest run-scorer in a Test match, behind only England’s Graham Gooch, who scored 456 against India in 1990.

His innings meant he was also the new record-holder for the most runs by an Indian in a single Test, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar’s 344 against the West Indies in 1971.