Shubman Gill etched his name into cricket history on 27 July with a masterful hundred at Old Trafford, joining legends Don Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar as the only Test captains to score four centuries in a single series.
His 103 on the final day of the fourth Test against England not only propped up India’s innings but also elevated him into elite company. At just 25, Gill became the first captain in the history of Test cricket to score four centuries in his debut series as captain, a feat unmatched even by Bradman or Gavaskar in their initial leadership stints.
Bradman’s four tons came during the 1947–48 home series against India, while Gavaskar’s quartet lit up the 1978–79 series against the West Indies. Gill, by achieving his milestone on English soil, has arguably added even more weight to the record.
Prior to this, five players jointly held the record for most centuries in a debut Test series as captain with three apiece Warwick Armstrong, Bradman, Greg Chappell, Virat Kohli, and Steven Smith. Gill now stands alone above them all.
His hundred on Saturday also ended a 35-year wait for an Indian century at Old Trafford. The last came from a 17-year-old Sachin Tendulkar, who scored an unbeaten 119 in 1990. Gill’s innings came under very different circumstances but similarly demonstrated a maturity well beyond his years.
With 722 runs in the ongoing series, Gill has now surpassed Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 712 the previous highest tally by an Indian in a Test series against England. Only Gavaskar has scored more for India in a single series: 774 in the 1971 tour of the West Indies, and 732 during the 1978–79 home series against the same team.
Gill’s form in the World Test Championship has also been exceptional. Saturday’s century was his ninth in the competition, drawing him level with Rohit Sharma’s tally but in just 67 innings, compared to Rohit’s 69.
