Virat Kohli hails Shubman Gill’s record-breaking heroics in Edgbaston Test
Gill backs his first-innings 269 with a brisk 161-run knock to pile 430 runs in second Test
BIRMINGHAM: Former India captain Virat Kohli on Saturday showered praise on Test skipper Shubman Gill following the latter’s extraordinary batting performance in the ongoing five-match Test series against England.
Gill played two phenomenal innings, 269 and 161 in the Edgbaston Test, rewriting record books and silencing critics in style.
Kohli, who retired from Test cricket just before ahead of England tour, took to Instagram to celebrate Gill’s achievement.
Sharing a photo of the young batter celebrating his double century, Kohli captioned the story.
“Well played star boy. Rewriting history. Onwards and upwards from here. You deserve all of this.”
Gill came into the series under scrutiny due to his underwhelming red-ball performances over the past year. However, the newly appointed Test captain responded with a historic outing at Edgbaston, compiling a combined 430 runs across both innings.
His monumental effort included 43 boundaries and 11 sixes, with over 55 percent of his runs coming in fours and sixes.
Notably, Gill became only the second player in Test cricket history to score 150-plus in both innings of a match, joining Australian legend Allan Border, who achieved the feat against Pakistan in Lahore in 1980.
Gill also entered the elite company of players involved in four 100-plus partnerships in a single Test, showcasing not only personal brilliance but strong leadership and synergy with his batting partners.
He became only the fifth batter in the history to breach the 400-run barrier in a Test match, joining Graham Gooch, Mark Taylor, Kumar Sangakkara and Brian Lara.
Gill now sits second in the elusive list, led by Gooch, who scored 456 runs against India in 1990.
Furthermore, Shubman Gill became the third Indian captain to score a century in each innings of a Test, joining Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli.
Gavaskar scored 107 and an unbeaten 182 against West Indies in 1978, while Virat Kohli made 115 and 141 against Australia in 2014.
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