India captain Gill piles on runs against England

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom, July 03 (AFP): India captain Shubman Gill scored a superb maiden Test double-century as he again led from the front against England in the second Test at Edgbaston on Thursday.

India were 419-6 at lunch on the second day of the second Test, with Gill and Ravindra Jadeja (89) sharing a fifth-wicket stand of 203.

Gill, a Test-best 168 not out at lunch on the second day, continued to take a toll of England's attack as he once more batted in near flawless fashion. He was especially severe on Shoaib Bashir, cover-driving the off-spinner for four and lofting him for six.

Gill also struck two fours in three balls off fast bowler Josh Tongue, an on-drive followed by a flick off the hip that saw Joe Root and Zak Crawley almost collide in a failed attempt to prevent the boundary. A hooked single off Tongue took Gill to 200 in 311 balls, including 21 fours and two sixes, with India then 472-6 as the elated skipper bowed to a capacity crowd in celebration. It was not long before the 25-year-old Gill, in just his second Test as captain, set a new record for the highest score by an India batsman in a Test in England, surpassing the great Sunil Gavaskar's 221 at the Oval back in 1979.

England were reduced to bringing on part-time medium-pacer Harry Brook in a desperate bid to 'buy' a wicket but Gill struck him for three successive fours -- the best a textbook straight drive. When Ravindra Jadeja was out earlier for a well-made 89 to end an excellent sixth-wicket stand of 203 with Gill, the innings might have fallen away.

But recalled all-rounder Washington Sundar, who has a highest Test score of 96 not out, gave fine support to his skipper and hit several boundaries of his own.

By that stage Gill had bettered his Test-best score for the second match in a row after making 147 in last week's five-wicket loss at Headingley, where England went 1-0 up in a five-match series.