Birmingham, July 3 (IANS) Shubman Gill slammed a majestic 269, a knock which will be talked about a lot in future, as he carried a dominant India to 587 in 151 overs of their first innings against England in the second Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test at Edgbaston on Thursday.

At 211/5, a total worth 450 wasn’t a practical possibility for India. But Gill stepped up in stunning fashion to hit his career-best knock in Tests and ensure India ended 13 runs away from reaching 600, which is now their fourth highest total in Tests.

It was a statement knock where Gill passed every challenge with his grit and determination to bat for more than eight hours and post the highest score by an Indian batter in Tests in England, as well as for an India captain overall.

With his technical excellence in attacking bowlers and being water tight in defence against good balls, Gill left everyone in awe of his knock laced with 30 fours and three sixes. With his technical excellence in defence and attack, as well as the stamina to play for long, Gill is now the second Test captain to make 200 in England, which is now the seventh highest score for an Indian batter in Tests.

Ravindra Jadeja (89) and Washington Sundar (42) gave him solid support in adding partnerships of 203 and 144 for the sixth and seventh wickets with Gill, meaning that the lower-order runs did come for India. For England, who didn’t get much help on offer, Shoaib Bashir ended with figures of 3-167, while Chris Woakes and Josh Tongue took 2-81 and 2-119 respectively.

The final session began sedately, before Gill tried to hook a short ball from Tongue, but picked out square leg, as the Indian skipper Gill received a standing ovation from the Edgbaston crowd. Bashir rounded off India’s innings when Akash Deep holed out to long-on, before having Mohammed Siraj stumped.

Previously, Gill’s great handling of Bashir continued in the second session, when he picked a four and six off drive and loft respectively. He then crunched Josh Tongue for two fours, before Sundar took charge by clipping Bashir for four, before flaying and pulling Tongue for six.

Gill then pulled a short ball from Tongue to bring up his 200, before punching the air while going down on one knee, and made a trademark bow to his team-mates and the crowd. Gill continued to be great by smacking Bashir for two fours, before cutting, punching and creaming Harry Brook for three boundaries.

He continued to dominate England by carting Carse, Bashir and Brook for boundaries – last of which went past a vacant slip area to get his 250. Sundar’s resistance ended on 42 off 103 balls when he played down the wrong line and was castled by Root. Gill came forward to drive Root for four before the second session firmly ended in India’s favour. After that, India’s innings ended quickly, giving England a massive task before stumps come.

Brief Scores: India 587 in 151 overs (Shubman Gill 269, Ravindra Jadeja 89; Shoaib Bashir 3-167, Chris Woakes 2-81) against England

–IANS

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