Shubman Gill has not just scored a double hundred; he's rewritten the record books.
On Thursday, during the second Test against England in Birmingham, Gill smashed his maiden Test double century (269 off 387 balls), a magnificent knock that's laden with historical milestones, firmly cementing his place in Indian cricket lore.
He is only the sixth Indian to score a 250-plus score in Tests, joining the elite company of Virender Sehwag, who did it four times, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Karun Nair, and Virat Kohli.
Gill is the first Indian to do so outside of the Indian subcontinent; the previous best was Sachin's masterclass of 241 not out against Australia at Sydney in 2004.
Gill's monumental effort made him only the sixth Indian captain to score a Test double hundred. He now joins an exclusive club that includes legends like MAK Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli.
Adding to his remarkable achievements, Gill became just the second Indian captain to score a double century in an away Test, following in the footsteps of Virat Kohli, who achieved the feat against West Indies in 2016. Furthermore, this double hundred is now the highest score by an Indian captain away from home, surpassing Kohli's previous record of 200.
He also became the first Indian and Asian captain to score a double hundred in a Test match in England. The previous best was 193 by Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan at Lord's in 2011.
Also, there have been 11 double centuries hit by captains in England, four from the hosts and seven others from visiting teams.
Only South African legend Graeme Smith reached the milestone at a younger age than Gill, with knocks of 277 and 259 in back-to-back Tests at Edgbaston and Lord's in 2003, the first of these coming at an age of 22 years and 175 days.
At 25-years-old, Gill also became the second-youngest captain after MAK Pataudi to reach the 200-run mark in Test cricket.
Gill also joined the elite company of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rohit Sharma to become the fourth Indian with a century in both Tests and ODIs.
He also surpassed Kohli's 254 not out against South Africa in 2019 to register the highest score ever by an Indian captain.
This is also the second instance of a double ton by an Indian skipper overseas, nine years after Virat Kohli's 200 against West Indies back in 2016 at North Sound.
Gill also became the third Indian captain with a 150-plus Test score before turning 26, after Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (twice) and Sachin Tendulkar.
At of 25 years and 298 days, he is the second-youngest Indian captain to score a Test double ton. Only Pataudi is ahead of him, who was 23 years and 39 days when he achieved the feat in 1964 against England in Delhi.
The young skipper's 269 n.o. is also the highest Test score by an Indian batter in England, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar's 221 at The Oval in 1979 and Rahul Dravid's 217, also at The Oval, in 2002.
Virat Kohli holds the record with seven double centuries as skipper for India.
It took Gill only three innings as captain to reach his double ton, the joint-quickest for India, alongside Sunil Gavaskar (205 vs the West Indies, Wankhede, 1978).
Before Gill, the highest score by an Indian skipper in a SENA country was 192 by Mohammed Azharuddin against New Zealand in Auckland back in 1990.
Azharuddin's 179 in Manchester in 1990 was the highest score by an Indian skipper in England.
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